BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
22/02/2008
Belarusian journalist released as government seeks better relations with West
The Associated Press
MINSK, Belarus: Belarusian authorities released an independent journalist from prison on Friday, his lawyer said, a decision that appeared to be part of the authoritarian president's efforts to improve ties with the West.
Alexander Sdvizhkov, a former deputy editor of the Zgoda newspaper, had been convicted in January of inciting religious hatred by publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and sentenced to three years in jail.
Belarus' Supreme Court mitigated Sdvizhkov's sentence Friday, reducing it to three months, which he has already served, said his lawyer, Maya Alexandrova.
Several opposition figures have been released since the start of the year in what President Alexander Lukashenko has called "an unprecedented step of goodwill" toward the United States and the European Union.
The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions against Belarus, urging Lukashenko to free all political prisoners and allow more democratic freedoms before sanctions can be eased and relations normalized. Lukashenko, who is described in the West as "Europe's last dictator," has stifled dissent and independent media during his 13 years in power.
Two other prominent opposition activists, including Alexander Kozulin, who challenged Lukashenko in the 2006 election, remain in custody.
Lukashenko signaled a desire for better relations with the West after Russia's decision to sharply hike prices for oil exports to Belarus - exports on which the country's Soviet-style, centrally controlled economy had long depended.
Source:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/22/europe/EU-GEN-Belarus-Journalist-Freed.php
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