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Reuters
Reuters
Politics

Germany condemns Belarus oppositionists' sentencing

Belarusian opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova, charged with extremism and trying to seize power illegally, stands in handcuffs inside a defendants' cage as she attends a court hearing in Minsk, Belarus September 6, 2021. Ramil Nasibulin/BelTA/Handout via REUTERS

Germany condemned the decision of a Belarusian court to sentence protest leader Maria Kolesnikova to 11 years in prison, saying it showed how rule of law in the country was bent in the service of Alexander Lukashenko's government.

German foreign ministry spokesperson Andrea Sasse said Kolesnikova and her fellow oppositionist Maxim Znak, who got 10 years, were campaigners for freedom, democracy and human rights and could count on the German government's solidarity.

Their convictions were "unjustified", she added and demanded their release along with that of all other political prisoners.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Kirsti Knolle)

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