Belarusian opposition leader: Tichanovskaya sentenced to 15 years in prison

Together with other members of the opposition, she is said to have planned the fall of the government in Belarus. A court has therefore now sentenced the exiled former presidential candidate Tichanovskaya to 15 years in prison.

Opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, who lives in exile, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Belarus. This was reported by the state news agency Belta. Accordingly, the 40-year-old, who fled to Lithuania, was found guilty on Monday in absentia of high treason and “conspiracy to seize power”.

Tichanovskaya and four other members of the opposition have had to answer in absentia in court in the Belarusian capital of Minsk since January. They were also accused of founding and leading an extremist group, inciting hatred and undermining national security. Another exiled opposition politician, Pavel Latuschka, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Marija Maros, Wolha Kavalkowa and Siarhei Dylewski were each sentenced to twelve years in prison.

Supporters speak of farce

Tikhanovskaya’s supporters have called the trial a farce. Tikhanovskaya herself wrote on Twitter: “So this is how the regime rewards my work for democratic change in Belarus. But today I am not thinking about my own judgment. I am thinking about thousands of innocent people, imprisoned and sentenced to real prison terms. I will not stop until everyone Some of them have been released.”

Mass protests after allegedly falsified election victory

Tichanovskaya ran in the summer of 2020 in the presidential election against long-time incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. After his re-election, Tichanovskaya accused the government of election fraud and claimed victory for himself. The West did not recognize the alleged election victory either. Lukashenko, a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, denies the allegations.

Before and after the election, there were mass protests across the country, which the authoritarian head of state had violently put down. Thousands of people were arrested or fled abroad, including Tichanovskaya and the other convicts.

Judgment against another critic of Lukashenko

Only last week, the Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Byaljazki was sentenced to ten years in prison. A court in the capital Minsk found the 60-year-old human rights activist guilty of financing protests against Lukashenko’s government and smuggling money.

Byalyatski denies the allegations. He has been in prison since 2021 and was honored with the Nobel Prize last year. Tichanovskaya, who has now also been convicted, called the verdict against Byaljazki “appalling”.