Belarus convicts a famous dissident rock band and sentences its members to correctional labor

Belarusian authorities on Friday convicted a famous dissident rock band, designating the band and its three members as extremist and sentencing them to two years of correctional labor. Nizkiz band members — Alyaksandr Ilyin, Siarhei Kulsha and Dzmitry Khalyaukin — were charged with “organizing and plotting actions grossly violating public order.” In 2020, when Belarus was rocked by mass protests that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term in office in a disputed election, the band released “Rules,” a song that became the protests' anthem.