MOSCOW, May 15 (UPI) -- A U.S. State Department spokesman says the five-year sentence handed to a leading opponent of the Belarusian president is "clearly politically motivated."
Andrei Sannikov, a former Belarus deputy foreign minister and presidential candidate, was sentenced to five years in prison Saturday for organizing an anti-government protest decrying the election of Aleksandr G. Lukashenko as president in December. Sannikov, 57, was a candidate in the election.
The New York Times reported the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against Belarusian officials as punishment for a crackdown on dissidents and have demanded Sannikov's release.
Sannikov is the highest-profile political leader to be sentenced in a series of crackdowns on political dissidents.
"Belarus should immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and cease continuing human rights violations against critics of the government, who remain at risk of harassment and arbitrary arrest," said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner, calling Sannikov's arrest and sentencing "clearly politically motivated."
Representatives from the European Union and United States attended Sannikov's sentencing. The courtroom erupted in shouts of "Shame!" and "Freedom" when the sentence was passed, the Times said.
