Serbian court rules to extradite to Belarus a critic of its authoritarian regime

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A Serbian court has ruled to extradite a Belarusian filmmaker and pro-democracy political activist to the authoritarian regime in Minsk where he could face prison and torture. Andrei Hniot is wanted in Belarus for alleged tax evasion. His lawyers and supporters said Friday in a statement that if Hniot is extradited to Belarus for criminal prosecution, he “will inevitably face a severe prison term for his peaceful civil activism and exercising his rights.”  He has the right to appeal. Serbia, which formally seeks European Union membership, has been drifting away from its EU path and toward traditional Slavic ally Russia, as well as China.