The trial against exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has begun in Belarus, and charges of treason have been brought, Reuters writes.
Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus after the presidential elections in 2020. At that time, widespread protests began about the falsification of election results. Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, declared himself the winner. An oppositionist faces up to 15 years in prison in Belarus.
Tsikhanouskaya currently lives in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, and stated that she does not expect a fair trial.
«In Belarus, there are no honest trials. We live in absolute lawlessness in our country so the trial will be a farce and a show but not real justice,»
she said, adding that she had asked the court-appointed lawyer to send her documents, but had received nothing.
Belarusian news agency BelTa reported that the trial will begin on the morning of Tuesday, the 17th of January. Tsikhanouskaya and several other persons are accused of treason and trying to seize power in the country.
A day before the start of the trial, Belarus also brought new criminal charges against Tsikhanouskaya’s husband. He was arrested in 2020 when he tried to run his own candidacy for the presidential elections, and it was the arrest of her husband that made Tsikhanouskaya run in the elections.
Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russia and allowed the aggressor to use the territory of Belarus to invade Ukraine, is not recognized in the West. Human rights activists believe that there are about one and a half thousand persons in detention in Belarus on political charges.
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