MOSCOW( AFP)-A court inBelarus on Tuesday( Dec 14) sentenced opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky to 18 years in prison after he galvanised an unprecedented protest movement against strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko last year, state media said. Following a months-long trial behind closed doors at a detention centre in the southeastern city of Gomel, the court found Tikhanovsky, 43, guilty of organising riots and inciting social hatred, among other charges, state newspaper SovetskayaBelarus r

MOSCOW — A Belarusian court convicted popular blogger and leading opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky of inciting mass unrest and social hatred and sentenced him to 18 years in prison Tuesday after a closed 173-day-trial.... Thousands of Belarusians have fled into exile. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The Belarusian rights group Viasna says 920 political prisoners are being held by the government.... He held a red folder sandwiched between white papers. After her husband’s