TALLINN, Estonia (AP) – A Belarusian court on Monday sentenced exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsihanoskaya to 15 years in prison after an absentee trial on charges involving conspiracy to overthrow the government. to suppress objections.
Tikhanuskaya ran against authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko in her August 2020 election to her sixth term and was widely considered rigged.
The result of the vote sparked the biggest protests in the country’s history. Lukashenko brutally cracked down on protesters, accusing the opposition of plotting to overthrow the government, and Tsykhnoskaya, under pressure, left for Lithuania. Other leading politicians and activists were either arrested or forced to leave the country.
In the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Tihanuskaya and four other figures of his opposition were tried in absentia. Her charges against her included founding and leading extremist groups, inciting hatred, and violating national security.
Another expelled opposition politician, Pavel Ratushka, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Maryya Maroz, Volha Kavalkova and Siarhei Dylevski were sentenced to her 12 years in prison. Kansas plan to keep disabled workers low wages angers supporters
All left Belarus after protests erupted in August 2020. The demonstration was Lukashenko’s largest and most sustained since he took office in 1994. Since then, he has ruled the country with an iron fist. His government cracked down on protesters, arresting more than 35,000 and beating thousands.
Among those arrested was the country’s most prominent human rights defender and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ares Bialiacki. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week.
Tikhanuskaya ran against Lukashenko on behalf of her husband, popular opposition politician Siahei Tikhanuski, who was arrested during the 2020 election campaign and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Last month, a Belarusian court extended Cikanuski’s sentence by an additional 18 months for violating prison rules.
According to the Biasna Center for Human Rights, Belarus’ most prominent human rights organization, Cihanski pleaded not guilty in a closed trial. The politician was held in solitary confinement in “inhumane conditions” for two months, the group said.
