Belarus requests extradition of opponent Tikhanovskaya, Lithuania refuses
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is being sued in her country for her role in the 2020 post-election protest movement. REUTERS - STAFF
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Belarus announced on Friday that it had asked Lithuania for the extradition of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, prosecuted in her country for her role in the 2020 post-election protest movement.
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The Belarusian public prosecutor's office asked his Lithuanian counterpart to extradite Svetlana Tikhanovskaya "
so that she can be prosecuted for crimes against order and public security,
" said the prosecutor's office in a statement.
Rival of Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election,
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
, a leading figure in the Belarusian opposition, was forced to take refuge in Lithuania just after the August 2020 election which saw the controversial re-election of President Lukachenko.
She said she was threatened by the security services.
The
Belarusian authorities
accuse him of having organized “
mass unrest
” last year
.
A reference to the demonstrations which had brought together tens of thousands of people last year.
She has also been prosecuted since the fall of 2020 for "calls for actions undermining national security" and risks three to five years in prison.
For her part, the opponent has always insisted on the peaceful nature of the demonstrations, and denounced the use of force and repression orchestrated by the authorities of the protest movement.
Categorical rejection of Vilnius
The Lithuanian authorities firmly rejected Minsk's request.
"
All those who have found refuge in Lithuania can feel safe and will not be returned to the regimes
[which are pursuing them]
, whether for their struggle for democracy and freedom of expression or for their belief,
" said in a statement the head of Lithuanian diplomacy, Gabrielius Landsbergis.
"
We have only one thing to say to the Belarusian regime: it will be cold in hell before we consider your demands,
" he added.
On Tuesday, investigators released a video presented as showing Svetlana Tikhanovskaya discussing plans to take over government buildings in Gomel, the country's second largest city, after the August presidential election.
The repression of the protest movement has been condemned by Western countries.
The European Union and the United States have taken sanctions against those close to the Belarusian president, who, supported by Moscow, has remained deaf to these pressures.
(with AFP)
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