Belarus opposition figure sentenced to 18 years under high security

Sergey Tikhanovsky, husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in a high-security penal colony, state media BelTA reported on Tuesday (14).

After a trial that took place largely behind closed doors, Tikhanovsky was convicted on charges that included “organizing mass rebellions” and inciting social hostility, which critics say was politically motivated.

Three others were also found guilty and sentenced to prison terms for more than a decade.

Authorities alleged that Tikhanovsky called for violence against the government and security forces, according to BelTA.

The verdict can be legally appealed within 10 days.

Tikhanovsky, a blogger and popular activist, was arrested shortly after declaring his candidacy for the presidency in May 2020.

His wife took his place, but ended up losing the disputed against Alexander Lukashenko, the strong man who rules Belarus for over 25 years in August of that year.

His campaigners and many international observers claimed that the vote was hampered by ballot box stuffing and forgeries.

“The very existence of these people is a crime for the regime. They are repressed by the desire to live in free Belarus,” she said in Twitter.

Tikhanovskaya added that her husband’s sentence was the longest ever granted to a person in this situation.

“The dictator publicly takes revenge on his strongest opponents,” said Tikhanovskaya. “While hiding political prisoners in closed trials, he hopes to continue the crackdown in silence. But the whole world watches. Let’s not stop.”

After her husband’s arrest, Tikhanovskaya became the unlikely face of a protest movement trying to overthrow Lukashenko, whose long term earned him the nickname “the last dictator of the Europe“.

His campaign rallies in the run to the August 2020 vote had significant support, even in small Belarusian towns not known for their protest activity. About 63,000 people attended the biggest event in the capital, Minsk, in July of last year — the biggest demonstration in the last decade.

The protests broke out after official polls came out showing that Lukashenko was heading for victory despite apparent widespread support for Tikhanovskaya.

According to official results, Lukashenko won the election with 80.23% of the vote to 9.9 for Tikhanovskaya — but independent analysts said there was widespread fraud.

Tikhanovskaya fled from Belarus to the Lithuania after publicly rejecting the results of the preliminary elections.

She and her children have been living in exile ever since.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya traveled to the United States in the middle of this year to meet with President Joe Biden and several government officials to press for sanctions against the Lukashenko regime.

(Translated text. Read the original here)