On March 6, a Belarusian court sentenced opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to 15 years behind bars. She was charged with a number of charges, including conspiracy to seize power and treason.
This was reported by the Belarusian media. In addition to her, Pavel Latushko, chairman of the People's Anti-Crisis Wire, also appears in the “case of the Coordinating Council”, Channel 24 informs.
What punishment will the oppositionists get?
It should be noted that Latushko is accused of calling for sanctions, inciting hatred, taking bribes and creating an extremist organization. For his “crimes” he received 18 years in prison.
In turn, Tikhanovskaya, by court decision, must serve her sentence in a strict regime colony.
They were found guilty of deliberate actions aimed at violating other social hostility and hostility on the basis of a different social affiliation, committed by a group of people, the verdict says.
It should be reminded that the journalist of the Belarusian service of “Radio Liberty” Valery admitted that now there is another peak of terror and repression. Human rights activists have calculated that in the past month alone, the number of trials and sentences has tripled.
How Tikhanovskaya reacted to her verdict
The opposition leader said she was not interested in the court's verdict. She and the democratic forces will do everything possible to release the political prisoners of Belarus and lead the country to democratic changes.
“Today I think about those who were given real, not absentee, sentences by the regime. 5, 16 or 22 years… But I don’t want to think about regime officials, judges, prosecutors. will not defend them in a real independent court, for which Belarusian lawyers have already collected a sufficient amount of evidence,” Tikhanovskaya said.
She also added that Lukashenka would save only himself and his inner circle. Tikhanovskaya asked the Belarusians whether it is worth defending someone who is already doomed to defeat.
Nobel laureate condemned in Belarus: what is known
- On March 3, a Belarusian court sentenced the head of Viasna, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oles Byalyatsky, to 10 years in prison.
- Viasna representatives Valentin Stefanovich and Vladimir Labkovich, who were involved in the case with Byalyatsky, were sentenced to 9 and 7 years in prison, respectively. Dmitry Solovyov, who is outside Belarus, received 8 years in prison.
- The trial of Bialiatski, accused of leading the Viasna human rights center, began in January. The defendants in the case have been in custody since July 2021.
- They were convicted of “smuggling by an organized group” and “financing group activities that grossly violate public order” because of the payment of fines and lawyers for protesters.
- Recall that Oles Byalyatsky became the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2022 together with the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties and the Russian organization Memorial.
