Belarusian politician goes on trial

MINSK, Belarus: A opposition politician in exSoviet Belarus went on trial yesterday on charges of joining “mass unrest,” in a continuing crackdown on dissent following demonstrations after presidential elections last August. Historic protests swept the country over several months after Alexander Lukashenko, 66, claimed a landslide victory in the vote that opposition and European leaders said was rigged. Pavel Severinets, who co-chairs the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democracy party, was arrested in June last year during a picket.