A court in Belarus on Thursday sentenced a prominent human rights activist to four and a half years in jail for tax evasion.
Ales Belyatsky heads a group called Vesna, which provides legal and financial help to opposition activists arrested following protests after the disputed 2010 presidential election.
Belyatsky says his arrest is politically motivated and his lawyer intends to appeal the verdict.
The state charged him with tax evasion after Polish and Lithuanian officials provided information on Belyatsky's use of money in Vesna's accounts in those countries.
Belyatsky has been in jail since August. He has also been ordered to pay an $83,000 fine.
The European Union says Belyatsky's case is indicative of a crackdown on dissidents by President Alexander Lukashenko.
The EU and the United States have imposed sanctions against Mr.Lukashenko's regime for actions taken against hundreds of activists who challenged the credibility of the 2010 vote, in which he was re-elected.