Svetlana Tsikhanovskaya, the top opposition candidate in Belarus’ presidential election. file | Photo Credit: AP
A Belarus court on March 6 sentenced exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanskaya to 15 years in prison after a trial in absentia on charges including plotting to overthrow the government.
Ms Tsikhanushskaya and four other opposition figures are being tried in absentia in the Belarus capital Minsk. He is also facing charges of forming and leading an extremist group, inciting hatred and harming national security.
All five left Belarus after the unprecedented incident Mass protests that erupted in 2020 After authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko secured his sixth term in office in a disputed election. The opposition and the West have condemned vote-rigging.
The demonstrations were the largest and most sustained since Mr Lukashenko took office in 1994. He has since then run the country with an iron fist. His government cracked down brutally against protesters, detaining more than 35,000 people and beating thousands.