Belarusian dissident gets relatively soft sentence.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

Belarusian opposition politician Andrey Klimaw has received a relatively soft sentence of 1.5 years of community service for staging an unauthorized protest on 25 March, a human rights web site has reported. Despite its being softer than expected, the sentence may knock Klimaw out of the 2006 presidential race. Klimaw, however, described the sentence as "a compromise" and a hopeful sign of change, the web site reported. He said he is confident he will stand for president in 2006. Klimaw has already served time in jail for alleged large-scale embezzlement in a case largely thought politically motivated, and he is still …