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MINSK, Belarus — The seven Belarusian presidential candidates who were arrested after this month’s election have been formally charged with organizing a mass public disturbance and face up to 15 years in prison, their lawyers said Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched through the streets of Minsk after the Dec. 19 election to protest fraudulent vote-counting. The demonstration was violently broken up by club- swinging riot police.
The election handed a fourth term to authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who exercises overwhelming control over politics, industry and media in this nation of 10 million.
