Belarus sentences independent newspaper editor to 4 years in prison

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities have convicted the chief editor of a prominent independent regional newspaper of “discrediting the Republic of Belarus” and sentenced him to four years in prison. It is the latest in a series of crackdowns against dissent in the country. Authorities accused Aliaksandr Mantsevich, chief editor of the popular Regionalnaya Gazeta newspaper, of using content that had been declared extremist. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, a total of 33 journalists are currently behind bars in Belarus.