Updated at 13:52,22-04-2024

Eight activists of pro-European group jailed in Minsk

BelaPAN

Eight members of an unregistered group called European Action were sentenced to 10 to 15 days in jail on Monday.

One activist received only a two-day jail term after pleading guilty, human rights defender Alesya Yakubowskaya told BelaPAN.

The trials of the young activists were held behind closed doors in the Tsentralny District Court in Minsk. They were found guilty of disorderly conduct.

Ms. Yakubowskaya would not name the activists, citing their families' requests.

The activists were arrested near the Minsk Arena sports complex on Sunday afternoon.

According to its website, European Action "is a movement of new European self-awareness."

"The aim is to unite those Europeans who have had enough of the American way of life including Pax Americana and who see through the hypocrisy and deception of political correctness and the entire present system," the site says. "European Action is neither a party nor an association but a movement for political/cultural renewal throughout Europe. It has the goal of replacing the EU dominated by the US with a European Confederation that will once again enable Europe to act in its own name rather than as a pawn in global politics."

European Action groups have been established in Austria, Britain, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland and other countries, the site says.