Belarusian opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia
Belarusian opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Vilnius, Lithuania, February 27, 2022. AFP - PETRAS MALUKAS
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Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa, Belarusian opponent of President Alexander Lukashenko, is accused of "
conspiring to take power unconstitutionally
".
On Twitter, she vowed to continue her struggle and political activities.
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Two and a half years after the massive protests in Minsk in September 2020 against the disputed re-election of Alexander Lukashenko, the crackdown continues in Belarus.
Four other people were tried on Monday alongside Svetlana Tsikhanovskaïa.
Among them, one of the highest officials of the regime to have joined the ranks of the opposition, Pavel Latouchko, former Minister of Culture and Ambassador to Paris.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Former presidential candidate for 2020 in place of her imprisoned husband Sergei Tikhanovski, Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa was targeted by a dozen charges, in particular that of “
conspiracy to take power unconstitutionally
”.
The prosecution had requested 19 years in prison against the opponent.
“
Today, I don't think about my own pain.
I think of thousands of innocent people, detainees and those sentenced to real prison terms,
she said on Twitter.
I will not stop until each of them is freed
”.
15 years of prison.
This is how the regime “rewarded” my work for democratic changes in Belarus.
But today I don't think about my own award.
I think about thousands of innocents, detained & sentenced to real prison terms.
I won't stop until each of them is released.
pic.twitter.com/9kQREV0sgl
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) March 6, 2023
On Friday March 3, 2023, activist
Ales Bialiatski,
co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize and figure of the democracy movement in Belarus, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ales Bialiatski was accused of having brought large quantities of cash into Belarus and of having financed collective actions "
greatly undermining public order
".
An ally of Putin, the Belarusian regime allowed Russian troops to pass through its territory during the invasion of Ukraine.
► To read also: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the Belarusian opposition tried in Minsk for high treason
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