A former great Belarusian swimmer has just been found guilty by a court in Minsk.

Aliaksandra Herasimenia has indeed been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in Belarus for "creating an extremist formation", the rights organization Viasna announced on Monday.

Aged 36, Aliaksandra Herasimenia was world champion in the 100m freestyle in 2011 in Shanghai, before winning two silver medals (in 50m and 100m freestyle) at the London Olympics in 2012, then the bronze in the 50m freestyle at Rio 2016.

A press release published on the Viasna website specifies that the trial of the former high-level athlete began on December 19.

According to the NGO, the one who had retired from sport in 2019, and who lives in exile, had also been found guilty of "calls for sanctions against Belarus" and "spreading false information about events" in the country in 2020.


A union representative also sentenced on Monday

That year, during an unprecedented protest against the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, Aliaksandra Herasimenia signed an open letter, alongside other Belarusian athletes, calling for "free elections" .

She had created in the process the Belarusian Foundation for Sports Solidarity (BSSF), an organization which provides financial and legal assistance to Belarusian sportsmen targeted by the authorities.

This is recognized by the Belarusian authorities as an “extremist formation”. 

In April 2021, she auctioned off her gold medal won at the 2011 Worlds for 13,500 euros to raise funds in support of opposition athletes.

In addition, a union representative, Alexander Yarochouk, was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison for having "seriously undermined public order" in 2020, Viasna announced in another press release.

For more than two years, the Belarusian authorities have been carrying out tireless repression.

Almost all opposition figures have been imprisoned or driven into exile.

World

War in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin in Belarus and Ukraine again in the dark

World

War in Ukraine: Belarusian President accuses kyiv of preparing an attack on the country

  • Sport

  • Swimming

  • World

  • Belarus

  • Alexander Lukashenko

  • Justice

  • Olympic Games