The State Prosecution Requested 19 Years in Prison for the Leader of the Belarusian Opposition Tikhanovskaya

The state prosecution requested for the ex-presidential candidate of Belarus Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and opposition activist Pavel Latushko 19 years in prison, transmits Belarusian agency “BelTA”.

In addition, the prosecutor requested for three other defendants in the case, representatives of the coordinating council of the Belarusian opposition Maria Moroz, Olga Kovalkova and Sergei Dylevsky, 12 years in a penal colony. At the same time, Tikhanovskaya was asked for a fine of 37,000 Belarusian rubles, or 1.1 million rubles.

It is clarified that all five defendants are charged with conspiracy to seize power by unconstitutional means, the creation and management of an extremist formation, as well as public calls for the seizure of power.

Now all the defendants in the case are outside Belarus, the trials are taking place in the presence of lawyers.

In April 2021 the State Security Committee of Belarus introduced Tikhanovskaya, Latushko and more than a dozen people in the list of persons involved in terrorist activities. Since August 2020, Tikhanovskaya has been living in Lithuania.

The Prosecutor General’s Office of the republic opened a criminal case against Tikhanovskaya and members of the opposition organization BYPOL, recognized as extremist in the country, for preparing an act of terrorism. According to the agency, they tried to carry out explosions and arson in Minsk and other cities, and also planned to accuse government officials of committing actions that endanger people’s lives.

Tikhanovskaya ran as a candidate for the presidency of Belarus in the elections that took place in August 2020. In them, she won 10.09% of the vote, while 80.08% of the citizens who came to the polls voted for the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko. The opposition did not recognize the results of the vote, saying that Tikhanovskaya won the election and demanded new elections. After the elections, mass protests and clashes with the security forces began in the country, which lasted for several months. Tikhanovskaya herself then moved to Lithuania, from where she now conducts opposition activities.