Belarus court sentences Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to 15 years in prison

(Patria) - A court in Belarus has sentenced exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to 15 years in prison in absentia, the state news agency Belta announced today.

Tikhanovskaya and four other defendants, who are also on the run, were accused of conspiracy to unconstitutionally seize power and establishing an extremist group.

Tikhanovskaya was the opponent of the authoritarian long-term leader Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential elections, and many election observers consider her the real winner of the elections.

After Lukashenko declared himself the winner, the opposition accused him of election fraud. Unprecedented protests occurred in Belarus, which Lukashenko brutally suppressed.

Tikhanovskaya, whose supporters have vehemently rejected the charges against the politician, calling them a meaningless farce, was tried in absentia in January on charges of treason, Hina reports.