Belarus opposition figure Babaryko jailed for 14 years

Opposition politician and banker Viktor Babaryko, charged with corruption and money laundering, is seen from inside a defendants' cage during the opening day of his trial in Minsk on February 17. BELTA/AFP

A court in Belarus on Tuesday sentenced one of strongman Alexander Lukashenko's leading critics to 14 years in prison on fraud charges. "Viktor Babaryko was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum security colony," his supporters said, using the 57-year-old's Twitter account. Former banker Babaryko was arrested in June last year ahead of a disputed presidential election that sparked nationwide demonstrations which gripped the ex-Soviet country for months. Babaryko had planned to run in the presidential race and was considered one of the strongest opponents to incumbent Lukashenko, who has been in power for close to three decades. Babaryko was accused of receiving bribes and "laundering funds obtained by criminal means" when he was head of Belgazprombank, the Belarusian branch of a bank belonging to Russian energy giant Gazprom. Prosecutors had requested a 15-year sentence, the maximum possible punishment. Babaryko denied any wrongdoing throughout his trial.