Big Sentences For Little Protests: Belarus Crackdown Targets Smallest Signs Of Dissent

A Belarusian man faces two years of forced labor after being accused of insulting a policeman in an online chat room, while a 19-year-old arrested for putting an opposition flag in his student dorm window could now go to prison for seven years on extremism charges. After a monthslong crackdown on the opposition following a presidential election widely seen as rigged, Belarusian authorities are now ramping up repressive measures against the smallest signs of dissent.