MINSK, Belarus (AP) - The United States and the European Union called again Monday for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, including an opposition leader on a hunger strike after being denied permission to attend his wife's funeral.

Alexander Kozulin, who unsuccessfully challenged authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in the March 2006 elections, was arrested during an opposition protest soon afterward. He was sentenced later that year to 5 1/2 years in prison for organizing mass protests.

Prison authorities on Sunday denied Kozulin's request for temporary release to bury his wife, Irina, who died Saturday from cancer. Her funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.

Kozulin began refusing food and water in protest. His two daughters and three other supporters have joined the hunger strike.

The U.S. Embassy in Minsk offered condolences to Kozulin and their daughters, Olga and Yulia, and said it "repeats its call for the release of all political prisoners."

"Putting an end to the practice of detaining citizens on political grounds in Belarus would be a significant step on the Belarusian side," said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Union's commissioner for external relations in urging authorities to release Kozulin.

Washington and Brussels 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 called "an unprecedented step of good will toward the West."