Belarusian sentenced for fighting alongside separatists:
By RFE/RL's Belarus Service
VITEBSK, Belarus -- A court has sentenced a Belarusian man to a two-year suspended sentence for fighting alongside Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The court in the eastern city of Vitebsk on September 26 found Alyaksey Yarshou, 29, guilty of illegally participating in armed conflicts abroad.
The trial was held behind closed doors.
The prosecution is the first known case involving a Belarusian citizen found to be fighting alongside separatists, whom Russia has backed with irregular forces and heavy weaponry.
In two earlier cases, two Belarusian men were found guilty of fighting alongside Ukraine's armed forces in the conflict, which has killed at least 10,000 people since erupting more than three years ago.
Large-scale fighting in the region, known as the Donbas, has mainly ebbed, though outbreaks of intense fighting have periodically broken out.
Statement by EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic on the Ukrainian education law:
In our contacts with the Ukrainian authorities, we have always underlined that the relevant legislation has to be in line with the international commitments to which Ukraine has subscribed, in particular the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages. As stated in the previous opinions of the Venice Commission, the role of Ukrainian as state language and the need to protect minority and regional languages need to be carefully balanced. We welcome the stated intention of the Ukrainian authorities to request an expert opinion from the Council of Europe, and call for this to be submitted as soon as possible. This opinion should be duly taken into account, both as regards its provisions and in advance of implementation of the legislation.
