The wife of a former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate says he has been freed after more than a year in prison.
Irina Khalip said her husband Andrei Sannikov telephoned her Saturday night to say he was released from prison and headed home.
Sannikov was arrested when police broke up a massive protest rally hours after voting ended on Dec. 19, 2010. The protesters decried alleged vote fraud in the election, in which incumbent strongman Alexander Lukashenko won a new term.
Sannikov was one of seven Lukashenko challengers arrested in a post-election crackdown. He was convicted of organizing riots and sentenced to five years in prison. One ex-candidate, Nikolai Statkevich, remains in prison.
