European Union threatened to expand sanctions against Belarus

European Union threatened to expand sanctions against Belarus after a Minsk court sentenced the runner-up in the disputed December presidential election to five years in prison.

Andrei Sannikov had been arrested following an antigovernment demonstration after the polls closed Dec. 19. Baton-wielding police broke up a largely peaceful gathering in central Minsk and detained about 700 people as the president was declared the landslide winner over eight rivals.

President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected, credited with 80% of the vote to Mr. Sannikov's 2.4%. International election observers said the vote count was seriously flawed.

A district court judge Saturday found Mr. Sannikov guilty of organizing mass disturbances and sent him to a high-security prison. Mr. Sannikov's lawyer said he would appeal.

Five presidential candidates were put on trial in connection with the demonstrations. Mr. Sannikov, a former deputy foreign minister, was the first to be convicted and sentenced.

More than 20 other opposition activists have been sent to prison in a sweeping postelection crackdown on dissent.

After hearing the judge's decision, the 57-year-old defendant turned to the human-rights activists, journalists and Western diplomats gathered in the courtroom. "Take care of my relatives," he said.

The trial of his wife, journalist Irina Khalip, for her part in the protest is expected to conclude on Monday.

Authorities had threatened to take the couple's 3-year-old son into state care but eventually appointed Ms. Khalip's mother as his guardian.

The U.S. State Department condemned the conviction of Mr. Sannikov as politically motivated and said "the results of ongoing trials will be taken into account as the United States continues to review its relations with Belarus and consider further measures."

EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc would "consider further targeted restrictive measures."

The U.S. and the EU have already imposed travel bans on Mr. Lukashenko and about 150 close associates.

"The sentences for oppositionists can be seen as 'goods' to trade with Western countries. In the next half-year, relations between Minsk and the West will be built around the problem of political prisoners," said Oleg Manayev, a political analyst in Minsk.

Mr. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with a strong hand since 1994, pledging security and stability in return for autocratic control. But a subway bomb in Minsk in April that killed 13 people and worsening economic problems have threatened to undermine this social contract.

Mr. Lukashenko has accused the opposition and unnamed foreign governments of trying to destabilize the country.

The crackdown on opponents has diminished any chance that Belarus can secure Western backing for assistance from the International Monetary Fund, leaving Mr. Lukashenko more reliant on Russia to shore up his country's ailing economy.

Belarus, a former Soviet republic, has dwindling reserves of foreign currency. Long lines form at currency exchange points and import-dependent businesses are crippled.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said this month that Russia could offer no more than $1 billion this year, a third of what Belarus was seeking.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is scheduled to travel to Minsk on Thursday and is expected to discuss terms of a loan.

Analysts said Russia wants to push Mr. Lukashenko to selling state assets coveted by Moscow in return for a bailout.