Belarus court jails journalists

A court in Belarus has convicted two journalists of libelling President Lukashenko during last year's presidential election campaign.

The two men, Mikola Markevich and Pavel Mazheiko, were sentenced to serve up to two-and-a-half years in a detention camp.

The court in the western city of Grodno heard that their newspaper Pagonya published an article accusing the president of involvement in the disappearance of opposition politicians.

The newspaper was shut down by the authorities last year, but has continued to appear on the internet.

The two journalists say they'll appeal. Last month, President Lukashenko announced that the work of several prominent writers had been banned because of their anti-government activities.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service