The Supreme Court of Belarus upheld the sentence of Tikhanovskaya

The Supreme Court of Belarus rejected the appeal against the sentence of the former candidate for the presidency of the republic Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, says in the court’s announcement. In the spring, Tikhanovskaya was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison.

“According to the appeal ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, the verdict of the Minsk City Court dated March 6, 2023 No. <...> left unchanged, and the appeal was dismissed,” the statement says. It is specified that the verdict has entered into force.

She is charged with committing crimes under Part 3 of Article 130, Part 2 of Article 191, Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 2 of Article 292, Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 2 of Article 293, part .4 Article 16 and Part 2 Article 342, Part 1 Article 356, Part 1 Article 357, Part 3 Article 361, Part 1 and 2 Article 361-1, Part 4 Article 16 and Article 382 of the Criminal Code of Belarus.

In 2020, presidential elections were held in Belarus, according to the official results of which the President of the country Alexander Lukashenko won. The opposition did not recognize the results of the elections, believing that its main opponent, Svyatlana Tikhanovskaya, actually won. Then mass protests began in the country, which were accompanied by arrests.

In March 2023, a court in Minsk sentenced Tikhanovskaya in absentia to 15 years in prison. Tikhanovskaya herself lives 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 Belarus) 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.

In March 2023, the court in Minsk in absentia sentenced Tikhanovskaya to 15 years in prison. She and other defendants in the case were charged with conspiracy to seize power in an unconstitutional way, the creation and management of an extremist formation, as well as public calls for the seizure of power. The former candidate for the presidency of Belarus lives in Lithuania, which provides her with financial support.