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Belarussian Granted Asylum

Belarussian opposition leader Andrei Sannikov, released from jail this year and warned by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko not to "blabber" if he wants to remain free, has been granted asylum in Britain, his wife said Friday.

Sannikov, 58, ran against Lukashenko in the 2010 presidential poll, which Western observers said was fraudulent. The vote handed Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm manager, a fourth term in office. Sannikov was sentenced to five years in prison last year for taking part in a protest against Lukashenko's re-election.

(Reuters)

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