Opposition leader in Belarus sentenced to 15 years in prison for "treason"
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tihanovskaya has been given 15 years in prison after being sentenced in absentia for treason and "conspiracy to seize power". He called the verdict a vindication of her efforts to promote democracy, reports Reuters.
Belta, Belarus' state news agency, reports that a court in Minsk sentenced Tihanovskaya to a prison camp.
The 40-year-old Svetlana Tihanovskaya, a former English teacher, fled to Lithuania in 2020 after running against incumbent leader Alexander Lukashenko in presidential elections, of which official results showed Lukashenko won.
She said at the time that the results had been falsified. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for nearly 30 years, has denied this.
Subsequently, mass protests erupted against Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which his security forces suppressed by locking up opponents or forcing them to flee.
