He has been convicted in a case involving Belarusian activist Maria Kolesnikova. The activist was accused of an try and seize energy and extremism by the Belarusian authorities.
Kolesnikova is a member of the opposition coordination council and was arrested in September. He is now going through an 11-year jail sentence.
The European Union has condemned the “gross disrespect” of rights following Kolesnikova’s conviction and known as for her fast and unconditional launch. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Kolesnikova’s “politically motivated and shameful punishment”.
Who is Maria Kolesnikova?
Kolesnikova has been a distinguished opposition determine within the main protests following the controversial election victory of President Alexander Lukashenko on August 9, 2020, almost a yr in the past.
The 39-year-old musician was a musician and labored on cultural initiatives. She spent a few years in Stuttgart, Germany.
She then joined the election marketing campaign of former banker Victor Babriko. Babriko was sentenced to 14 years in July because the Lukashenko regime tightened the noose on opposition figures after a controversial vote.
Belarusian authorities tried to expel Kolesnikova in September 2020. The nation’s safety company forcibly drove him to the border with Ukraine in an effort to expel him. Kolesnikova tore her passport and went again to Belarus the place she was taken into custody.
When her trial started final week she danced and smiled in relentless acts of defiance towards Lukashenko’s regime.
“When we see her on the court, she tries to maintain her positive energy and every time we see her, she tries to smile,” Maria Drindova, a Belarus analyst from the University of Bremen, advised DW.
Belarus dominates opponents
Thousands of political opponents have been arrested and lots of who’ve fled the nation and are actually residing in exile.
In one such occasion, Belarusian Olympic runner Kristina Tsimanoushskaya refused to go away Tokyo after being ordered to go dwelling by teaching employees. The athlete mentioned he was at risk if he ought to return.
She is at present residing in exile in Poland because the nation granted her a humanitarian visa.
Authorities have carried out a whole bunch of raids in current weeks focusing on journalists and pro-democracy activists.
Belarus’ Baltic neighbors additionally accused Minsk of intentionally driving irregular migrants to its borders to stress the European Union to rethink sanctions towards Lukashenko’s regime.
.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
