Status: 01/17/2023 7:10 p.m
A trial against opposition leader Tichanovskaya has begun in Belarus. She is accused of high treason and “conspiracy to take power unconstitutionally”. The politician, who lives in exile, described the procedure as a farce.
A trial on charges of high treason has been opened in Belarus in absentia against opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, who fled into exile. At the start of the trial, the state-run Belarusian news agency Belta reported that Tichanovskaya and four other defendants – who had also fled – were accused of conspiracy to unconstitutionally seize power and form an extremist group.
The United States announced new sanctions against Belarus at the start of the trial.
Challenger Lukashenko
Tichanovskaya challenged the authoritarian long-term ruler Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential elections in 2020 and is considered by many election observers to be the true winner of the vote. After the 68-year-old was declared the winner, there were unprecedented demonstrations in Belarus, which had Lukashenko brutally crushed.
Tikhanovskaya, who helped lead the protests, was forced to go into exile in Lithuania. There she founded a government in exile in the summer.
No contact with the lawyer
In an interview with the AFP news agency, Tichanovskaya described the process as a “farce” and “personal revenge” by the authoritarian head of state Lukashenko. “I don’t even know what my so-called lawyer will do tomorrow in this court, how he will defend me,” Tichanovskaya said. She has not yet received access to court documents. She tried to contact her court-appointed lawyer, but he never responded. She has still not been informed of the exact allegations against her, she wrote in her Telegram channel.
She expects “many years” in prison
The 40-year-old is considered the face of the Belarusian opposition, and she regularly denounces the government’s ongoing attacks. In addition to her, the opposition and activists Maria Moroz, Pavel Latuschko, Olga Kovalkowa and Sergei Dylewski are accused. She does not know “how long this process will take, how many days, but I am sure that they will sentence me to many, many years in prison,” said Tichanovskaya.
Her husband Sergei Tichanowski was sentenced to 18 years in prison in December 2021 for allegedly organizing mass unrest and inciting hatred. Actually, her husband, a popular video blogger and activist, wanted to challenge Lukashenko in the August 2020 election. However, he was arrested in May 2020 – two days after announcing his candidacy.
Tichanovskaya, a former English teacher, then ran in his place. She and other members of the opposition dismissed the official result of the election, which gave Lukashenko a sixth term.