Belarus Court Sentences Exiled Opposition Figure to 20 Years in Absentia

A court in Belarus has sentenced Franak Viachorka, a top opposition figure living in exile, to 20 years in prison in absentia. The court in Minsk passed the sentence late Thursday, convicting Viachorka of charges including treason and insulting the president.

Viachorka, an advisor to opposition leader Svitalana Tsikhanouskaya, lives in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where many opposition figures fled after the disputed 2020 presidential election. The election, in which Tsikhanouskaya ran against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, was widely regarded as falsified, leading to months of protests and arrests.

The sentencing is the latest chapter in Belarus' crackdown on dissent since the disputed 2020 election. The opposition and the West disputed Lukashenko's reelection and denounced the vote as rigged. The protests that followed were unprecedented in their size and duration, with police arresting more than 35,000 people, many of whom were beaten. Opposition figures who remained in the country were imprisoned, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, founder of the Viasna human rights organization.

Why it Matters : The sentencing of Viachorka is a stark reminder of the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Belarus. The country has been ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, and his regime has been marked by a consistent suppression of opposition and human rights. The disputed 2020 election was a turning point, with the opposition and the West denouncing the vote as rigged and calling for Lukashenko's resignation.

Viachorka had attempted to be allowed to testify at his trial by videolink, but the request was denied. "It was not a trial, but a farce, and all the charges against me were fabricated," he told The Associated Press. The sentencing has sparked outrage and concern among human rights groups and opposition figures, who see it as a further attempt by the Lukashenko regime to silence dissent and crush opposition.

Key Takeaways :

• A court in Belarus has sentenced Franak Viachorka, a top opposition figure living in exile, to 20 years in prison in absentia.
• Viachorka was convicted of charges including treason and insulting the president, and lives in Vilnius, Lithuania, where many opposition figures fled after the disputed 2020 presidential election.
• The sentencing is the latest chapter in Belarus' crackdown on dissent since the disputed 2020 election, which was widely regarded as falsified.
• The opposition and the West disputed Lukashenko's reelection and denounced the vote as rigged, leading to months of protests and arrests.
• Viachorka denounced the trial as a "farce" and claimed that all the charges against him were fabricated.