Belarus: opponents face sentences of up to 18 years in prison
The husband of the leader of the opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya escorted by the police before his hearing in the city of Gomel on December 14, 2021. via REUTERS - BELTA
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2 min
Very heavy prison sentences were pronounced in Belarus on Tuesday, December 14, against several detractors of the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
The husband of opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya receives 18 years in prison.
Five other co-defendants are sentenced to terms ranging from 14 to 16 years.
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The man who tried to challenge
Alexander Lukashenko
in the presidential election of August 2020, who had previously launched a campaign against him entitled "Stop the cockroach" and whose wife took the head of the opposition, is sentenced the heaviest, in this closed-door trial.
Sergei Tikhanovsky, 43, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, he was on trial for "organizing massive disturbances", "inciting hatred in society", "disturbing public order" and "obstructing the Commission. electoral ”.
Charges that Sergei Tikhanovsky had described as "
imaginary and politically motivated
" in a letter to
Deutsche Welle
.
From his cage, alongside the other co-defendants, the blogger listened to the statement of judgment, turning his back on the magistrates.
Target the strongest opponents
Another major
opposition
figure
- Mikola Statkevich, 65 - is sentenced to 14 years in prison.
In politics since the 1990s, presidential candidate in 2010, he has already spent several years in prison.
Artiom Sakov and Dmitri Popov, who worked for Sergei Tikhanovsky, are sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Finally, Vladimir Tsyganovitch, a critic of power, and Igor Lossik, a 29-year-old opposition journalist, receive a 15-year prison sentence.
While traveling to Brussels,
Svetlana Tikhanovskaia
believes that with these sentences, Alexandre Loukachenko “
publicly avenges his strongest opponents
”.
►
To listen
: Support Belarusian opponents
Convictions as revenge
A few months ago, the Belarusian courts had already sentenced the former banker and presidential candidate
Viktor Babaryko
to 14 years in prison.
Victor Babaryko personified the electorate of the intelligentsia, the business world, the rich and the middle class, while Sergei Tikhanovsky represented the electorate through which Alexander M. Lukashenko came to power: the popular, working classes, more poor, says Pavel Slunkin, a former Belarusian diplomat and political scientist.
According to the latter, Mr. Tikhanovski “
had a fairly populist rhetoric.
He is a fairly hard man, who was not shy about, for example, comparing Alexander Lukashenko to a cockroach
”.
And in this sense, he analyzes, his conviction “
like that of Victor Babaryko, it is obviously revenge.
The number of years of condemnation is of course shocking, but it cannot be said that it is astonishing.
"
Pavel Slunkin considers that it was expected enough that the authorities would want to show what was the price to pay for those who challenged them: “
It's a kind of public execution, an attempt to show that people who go against it. the will to power will be punished just as severely,
”he considers.
Condemnations singled out by Washington and the EU
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, demanded on Tuesday the end of the "
harsh repression
" underway in Belarus.
“
None of these individuals, nor the Belarusian people, deserve to suffer such harsh repression
,” Antony Blinken said in a statement.
"
These sentences unfortunately show once again the contempt of the Belarusian regime for its international obligations as well as for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Belarusians,
" added the US Secretary of State.
The European Union denounced for its part the “
unfounded
” and “
severe
”
sentences
inflicted on these opposition figures in Belarus, and is considering new sanctions, announced the spokesperson for the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell. "
These sentences are new examples of unfounded accusations against Belarusian citizens who have exercised their right of expression and demanded free and fair elections
," said spokesman Peter Stano in a statement.
"
These sentences are part of the brutal and systematic repression of all independent voices in Belarus,
" lamented the European spokesperson.
“
The EU strongly condemns these flagrant and continuing violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Minsk regime
,” he added.
“
In view of the continued deterioration of human rights violations and repression in Belarus, the EU remains determined to consider new sanctions,
” Peter Stano also argued.
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Belarus
Alexander Lukashenko
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