DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — A trial opened in absentia Tuesday against Belarus’ opposition leader, denouncing the trial as a sham and suggesting the West step forward to defend the country’s embattled opposition.
Tsikhanouskaya, who left the former Soviet country shortly after the vote under pressure from the authorities, is being tried in absentia along with 4 other opposition figures. She faces charges of high treason, conspiracy to capture force and endanger national security, and may only face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Tsikhanouskaya said she had learned from the media about the trial behind closed doors and added that she had been unsuccessful with her court-appointed lawyer through Belarusian authorities.
“It looks like a farce,” Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, where she is attending the World Economic Forum. , as it is ordered to do.
In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced the trial as politically motivated and said it was based on “baseless allegations. “
It said in a statement that the State Department had imposed U. S. visa restrictions on 25 other people “for their involvement in undermining democracy. “convicted of “attempted acts of terrorism,” a rate Blinken says is used to repress and intimidate the democratic opposition and civil society.
“We will not stand idly by while this regime continues to harass and repress non-violent protesters, the democratic opposition, journalists, industry unionists, activists, human rights defenders and ordinary Belarusians,” he said.
In December 2021, Tsikhanouskaya’s husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was convicted and sentenced to 18 years in prison for organizing mass riots and inciting hatred, accusations he has denied. On Monday, the government filed new charges against him.
“The lawyer visits him once a week just to check if he is at least alive, because the situation in prisons is horrible,” Tsikhanouskaya told the AP. “They put him in disciplinary cells and when you’re in prison, they have no rights. “
Her husband, a video blogger and grassroots activist, planned to challenge Lukashenko in the August 2020 vote, but was arrested in May 2020, two days after signaling his candidacy. Tsikhanouskaya, a former English teacher, ran instead.
Tsikhanouskaya and other opposition activists downplayed the official effects that gave Lukashenko a sixth term as fraudulent. The vote sparked an unprecedented wave of mass protests that lasted for months, with an estimated 200,000 more people taking to the streets of Belarus. Lukashenko’s government responded with a violent crackdown on protests, arresting more than 35,000 people and brutally beating thousands.
The authorities have continued their crackdown and another 1,438 people in Belarus are in prison for political reasons, according to human rights groups.
Tsikhanouskaya suggested the West establish a transparent strategy on Belarus and the country’s opposition.
She under pressure that for the opposition is vital because Russia used Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine on February 24 and is stationing its troops and weapons on Belarusian territory. Tsikhanouskaya noted that opposition activists in Belarus help collect data on Russian troop movements, adding that “we are passing this data on to Ukraine. “
“I don’t need the world to forget about Belarus, to come back once again why Belarus is important, that without a secure, relaxed and democratic Belarus, there will be no solid peace in the region,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
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Yuras Karmanau contributed to this from Tallinn, Estonia.