Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tried in absentia by a Minsk court, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.
Tsikhanouskaya — who fled to Lithuania following President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on the Belarusian opposition after a presidential election in 2020 — was found guilty of high treason, inciting social hatred, attempts to seize power, forming an “extremist” group and harming national security through public calls for sanctions against the Belarusian government.
Another exiled opposition leader, Pavel Latushka, who was also tried in absentia, was sentenced by the same court to 18 years in prison.
Belarusian state media published photos of a court room with an empty metal cage for prisoners, as well as a group of defenders of the opposition leaders.
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In a statement after the verdict was announced, Tsikhanouskaya said that she and other Belarusian democratic supporters will continue “doing everything possible to free our political prisoners and lead our country to democratic changes.”
Tsikhanouskaya became the leading opposition candidate during the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, after the arrest of her husband and popular video blogger Sergei and other major opposition figures who wanted to run in the presidential race.
In 2021, her husband Sergei was sentenced to 18 years in prison for inciting hatred and social unrest.
Latushka, now in Poland, tweeted that he “will not stop” battling the Minsk regime. “Sviatlana, together with our fellow Belarusians we will continue to fight,” he added, under a photo with Tsikhanouskaya.
Tsikhanouskaya and Latushka have been two of the highest profile opposition figures sentenced by Belarusian courts after the 2020 presidential election, widely considered to be fraudulent. According to Belarusian human rights watchdogs, there are almost 1,500 political prisoners in the country, including opposition activists, civil society representatives and journalists.