Statement by the Press Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the Conviction of Belarusian Opposition Presidential Candidate Andrei Sannikov

May 17, 2011
Japanese

The Government of Japan is deeply concerned at the sentencing of Mr. Andrei Sannikov, who was an opposition presidential candidate at the Presidential election last December, along with other activists, to five years imprisonment for alleged “organization of mass riots” on Saturday, May 14.
Closely following the Presidential election, the Government of Japan expressed concern over the detention of the presidential candidates as well as many others, and urged the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to ensure principles of democracy.
The Government of Japan hopes that the development of Belarus takes place in line with principles of democracy, human rights and other relevant principles. In order to encourage democratization, the Government of Japan continues to extend assistance and approaches to Belarus, while continuing to monitor closely the situation in Belarus.

(*This is a provisional translation. The above date denotes the date of the issue of the original press release in Japanese.)

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