Belarus opposition leader Andrei Sannikov jailed

(JakartaForum-bbc) A high-profile opposition leader in Belarus has been jailed for five years on charges of organising mass protests after last year's presidential poll.

Andrei Sannikov, a former deputy foreign minister and co-founder of the Charter 97 group, had pleaded innocent.

Sannikov, 57, was one of seven presidential candidates detained at a rally in December after Alexander Lukashenko won a fourth term.

The EU and US condemned the crackdown and imposed sanctions on Mr Lukashenko.

He has been president of the former Soviet republic since 1994.

Sannikov was accused of organising "mass disturbances" by calling on people to take part in a protest march on 19 December and then leading it. Hundreds of opposition activists were detained at the demonstration.

Sannikov was convicted at a court in Minsk and will serve his sentence in a high-security prison.

The opposition said Mr Lukashenko's re-election with nearly 80% of the vote was fraudulent. Western monitors described the poll as "flawed".

Sannikov won most votes among the nine opposition candidates, taking 2.43%.