Activists are sent to jail by Belarus court

TWO leading opposition activists have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences by a court in Belarus, the latest move in the relentless crackdown Belarusian authorities have unleashed on dissent in the wake of last year’s anti-government protests.

Maria Kolesnikova, a leading member of the opposition Coordination Council, has been in custody since her arrest last September.

A court in Minsk found her guilty of conspiring to seize power, creating an extremist organisation and calling for actions damaging state security and sentenced her to 11 years in jail. Lawyer Maxim Znak, another leading member of the Coordination Council who faced the same charges, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.