Belarus seeks seven-year jail term for opposition chief

Belarussian prosecutors on Friday demanded a seven year jail term for opposition leader Andrei Sannikov on charges of organising mass protests after disputed presidential elections. Prosecutor Anton Zagorovsky told a Minsk court that video evidence proved that Sannikov, who stood against President Alexander Lukashenko in the December 19 polls, had called people out onto the street. Sannikov has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The seven year term is lower than the maximum 15 year penalty that Sannikov could have faced. The trial is being watched closely by the West which has effectively ostracised Lukashenko for a brutal crackdown on the opposition after the elections.