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Belarus opposition leaders sentenced to lengthy terms in prison
POLITICS
06.09.2021 | 17:28
Belarus jailed a key opposition leader for 11 years, close to the maximum term, intensifying a crackdown on pro-democracy activists days before President Alexander Lukashenko travels to Moscow for talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported.
Maria Kalesnikava, 39, who ripped up her passport to stop security agents expelling her from Belarus, was convicted of conspiracy to seize power and of leadership of an extremist organization at a closed-court hearing in the capital Minsk on Monday. Maksim Znak, 40, a lawyer who worked in the opposition campaign to challenge Lukashenko at last year’s presidential elections, was sentenced to 10 years on the same charges. Both had spent almost a year in detention.
Kalesnikava became a prominent public face in opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s election campaign and was one of the leaders of protests that erupted against Lukashenko’s claim to have won with 80% support. More than 30,000 protesters were detained in violent police crackdowns amid allegations of torture in prison
