Belarus yesterday jailed opposition leader Andrei Sannikov for five years on charges of organising protests after the disputed re-election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Sannikov, 57, is the most prominent figure in a series of trials of opposition figures arrested after the December 19 elections which Lukashenko swept with almost 80 per cent of the vote, but were slammed as flawed by observers.

Amid highly emotional scenes, four other younger defendants – the youngest only 19 – were handed sentences of up to three-and-a-half years in the same trial, an AFP correspondent reported from the courtroom.

Britain called the trial “a new low for the rule of law in Belarus”.

And the US condemned the conviction as “politically motivated”, saying it considered Sannikov and other candidates detained after standing against Lukashenko in the elections to be political prisoners.

According to the ruling issued at the Minsk court, Sannikov will serve his sentence in a high-security prison. Prosecutors had asked for a seven-year term while according to the law he could have faced a maximum term of 15 years.

“Look after my loved ones!” Sannikov shouted through the courtroom cage after the verdict was read out. “We will look after them, do not worry,” replied his father-in-law Vladimir Khalip, a prominent playwright.

Supporters in the court shouted “Freedom” and “Shame on the authorities”, while others cried.

Sannikov’s lawyer Marina Kovalevskaya said the defence would appeal the verdict.