A court in Belarus has convicted two independent journalists on charges of high treason and handed them long prison sentences, the latest move in the government's crackdown on dissent and free speech, a media rights group said Friday.
Uladzimir Yanukevich, 65, who founded and edited the Intex-Press and BAR24 media outlets, was given a 14-year sentence, while his 44-year-old colleague Andrei Pakalenka was handed a 12-year sentence, the rights group said. Their media sites were among the most popular in Belarus.
