Tsikhanovsky, a popular blogger and activist, was arrested shortly after announcing his candidacy for the presidency in May 2020.
His wife stood in his place, but in August of the same year lost a controversial contest against strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who had ruled Belarus for more than 25 years. His campaign and several international observers claimed that the vote was sabotaged by extensive ballot filling and falsification.
“The tyrant publicly avenges his strongest opponents,” Sikhnoushskaya said on Twitter on Tuesday. “While hiding political prisoners in closed trials, he hopes to continue the repression in silence. But the whole world sees. we will not stop.”
Following her husband’s arrest, Tsikhanovskaya became the unlikely face of a protest movement attempting to topple Lukashenko, whose long tenure earned her the nickname “Europe’s last dictator”.
His campaign rallies for the August 2020 vote also saw significant turnout in smaller Belarusian towns not known for their protest activity. In July last year, some 63,000 people attended the capital’s biggest event in Minsk – the largest demonstration there in a decade.
According to official results, Lukashenko won the election with 80.23% of the vote to Tsikhanovskaya’s 9.9 – but independent observers said there had been widespread fraud.