A court in Belarus has sentenced a man to 3 1/2 years in prison for sending the equivalent of $32 to three Belarusian groups -- Honest People, the Belarusian Culture Council, and ByHelp -- which were labeled extremist and banned by authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime. Fyodar Shvedau, 48, was found guilty of "financing extremist groups." Shvedau pleaded partially guilty. He was held handcuffed in a glass cage during the court proceedings, which human rights groups have called a common practice under Lukashenka's regime to additionally humiliate people on trial. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.
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