Belarus dissident freed to go to funeral

Authorities in Belarus temporarily released an opposition leader from prison Tuesday so he could attend his wife's funeral, his lawyer said, after their initial refusal triggered international pressure.

Authorities gave Alexander Kozulin three days to attend the funeral of his wife, Irina Kozulina, who died of cancer on Saturday, said lawyer Igor Rynkevich.

The United States and European union demanded, in the days leading up to Kozulin's wife's death and afterward, that he be set free.

On Monday, the White House repeated the demand, calling Belarus' refusal to release a hunger-striking Kozulin incomprehensible.

Kozulin, a candidate for president in 2006, was arrested during a postelection protest. The opposition says the vote was rigged in favor of President Alexander Lukashenko. Kozulin was convicted of organizing mass protests and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in a high-security prison.

Kozulin had gone on a hunger strike after being denied permission to attend the funeral, which is planned for Wednesday. His two daughters and three other supporters had also joined the hunger strike, and about 1,000 people marched through the capital, Minsk, on Monday to show their solidarity.

Kozulin and his daughters ended the hunger strike after his release Tuesday, Rynkevich said.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against Lukashenko and other government officials for quashing political opposition, shuttering independent media and holding elections that the West has dismissed as illegitimate.

Several opposition figures have been released since the start of the year in what Lukashenko has called "an unprecedented step of good will toward the West."