According to the human rights group Viasna, this is the first time since the fall of the communist regime in 1991 that a Catholic priest has been convicted on political grounds.
The harsh sentence is intended to intimidate and silence hundreds of other priests ahead of the presidential election in January, says Pavel Sapelka of Viasna.
The 64-year-old Akalatovitj has criticized the dictatorial regime in his sermons. He has been held in isolation since he was arrested in November last year, and prison staff have refused to accept warm clothing and food sent to him.
On January 26, President Aleksandr Lukashenko is set to secure his seventh term in an election whose fairness few external observers have confidence in.
After the 2020 election, massive demonstrations swept across the country, and the regime responded by arresting over 65,000 people, many of whom were subjected to brutal treatment in detention.
Large numbers of opposition figures have been imprisoned, silenced, or gone into exile.
Viasna has listed 1,265 political prisoners in the country.
