JanguKamaJangu
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 7, 2022
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Kiongozi wa upinzani wa Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, aliyeko uhamishoni, Jumatatu amepewa kifungo cha miaka 15 jela, licha ya kutokuwepo nchini, baada ya kupatikana na hatia ya jaribio la mapinduzi.
Uamuzi huo yeye ameutaja kuwa adhabu ya kujaribu kukuza demokrasia ya Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya mwenye umri wa miaka 40 na ambaye aliwahi kuwa mwalimu wa kiingereza alikimbilia kwenye nchi jirani ya Lithuania mwaka 2020, baada ya kugombea uchaguzi wa rais dhidi ya kiongozi wa sasa Alexander Lukashenko, ambao matokeo yake yalionyesha kuwa Lukashenko alishinda kwa asilimia kubwa.
Hata hivyo Tsikhanouskaya pamoja na upinzani walipinga matokeo hayo wakidai kuwa uchaguzi uliibwa.
Madai hayo yalikanushwa vikali na Lukashenko ambaye ametawala Belarus kimabavu kwa karibu miongo mitatu. Hali hiyo ilipelekea maandamano makubwa ya kitaifa dhidi ya utawala wa Lukashenko ambaye ni rafiki wa karibu wa Rais wa Russia Vladimir Putin, wakati maafisa wa usalama wakikamata wapinzani na kulazimisha baadhi yao kutoroka nchini.
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Belarus sentences opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years in prison
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tried in absentia by a Minsk court, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.
Tsikhanouskaya — who fled to Lithuania following President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on the Belarusian opposition after a presidential election in 2020 — was found guilty of high treason, inciting social hatred, attempts to seize power, forming an “extremist” group and harming national security through public calls for sanctions against the Belarusian government.
Another exiled opposition leader, Pavel Latushka, who was also tried in absentia, was sentenced by the same court to 18 years in prison.
Belarusian state media published photos of a court room with an empty metal cage for prisoners, as well as a group of defenders of the opposition leaders.
In a statement after the verdict was announced, Tsikhanouskaya said that she and other Belarusian democratic supporters will continue “doing everything possible to free our political prisoners and lead our country to democratic changes.”
Tsikhanouskaya became the leading opposition candidate during the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, after the arrest of her husband and popular video blogger Sergei and other major opposition figures who wanted to run in the presidential race.
In 2021, her husband Sergei was sentenced to 18 years in prison for inciting hatred and social unrest.
Latushka, now in Poland, tweeted that he “will not stop” battling the Minsk regime. “Sviatlana, together with our fellow Belarusians we will continue to fight,” he added, under a photo with Tsikhanouskaya.
Tsikhanouskaya and Latushka have been two of the highest profile opposition figures sentenced by Belarusian courts after the 2020 presidential election, widely considered to be fraudulent. According to Belarusian human rights watchdogs, there are almost 1,500 political prisoners in the country, including opposition activists, civil society representatives and journalists.
Uamuzi huo yeye ameutaja kuwa adhabu ya kujaribu kukuza demokrasia ya Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya mwenye umri wa miaka 40 na ambaye aliwahi kuwa mwalimu wa kiingereza alikimbilia kwenye nchi jirani ya Lithuania mwaka 2020, baada ya kugombea uchaguzi wa rais dhidi ya kiongozi wa sasa Alexander Lukashenko, ambao matokeo yake yalionyesha kuwa Lukashenko alishinda kwa asilimia kubwa.
Hata hivyo Tsikhanouskaya pamoja na upinzani walipinga matokeo hayo wakidai kuwa uchaguzi uliibwa.
Madai hayo yalikanushwa vikali na Lukashenko ambaye ametawala Belarus kimabavu kwa karibu miongo mitatu. Hali hiyo ilipelekea maandamano makubwa ya kitaifa dhidi ya utawala wa Lukashenko ambaye ni rafiki wa karibu wa Rais wa Russia Vladimir Putin, wakati maafisa wa usalama wakikamata wapinzani na kulazimisha baadhi yao kutoroka nchini.
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Belarus sentences opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years in prison
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tried in absentia by a Minsk court, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.
Tsikhanouskaya — who fled to Lithuania following President Alexander Lukashenko’s crackdown on the Belarusian opposition after a presidential election in 2020 — was found guilty of high treason, inciting social hatred, attempts to seize power, forming an “extremist” group and harming national security through public calls for sanctions against the Belarusian government.
Another exiled opposition leader, Pavel Latushka, who was also tried in absentia, was sentenced by the same court to 18 years in prison.
Belarusian state media published photos of a court room with an empty metal cage for prisoners, as well as a group of defenders of the opposition leaders.
In a statement after the verdict was announced, Tsikhanouskaya said that she and other Belarusian democratic supporters will continue “doing everything possible to free our political prisoners and lead our country to democratic changes.”
Tsikhanouskaya became the leading opposition candidate during the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, after the arrest of her husband and popular video blogger Sergei and other major opposition figures who wanted to run in the presidential race.
In 2021, her husband Sergei was sentenced to 18 years in prison for inciting hatred and social unrest.
Latushka, now in Poland, tweeted that he “will not stop” battling the Minsk regime. “Sviatlana, together with our fellow Belarusians we will continue to fight,” he added, under a photo with Tsikhanouskaya.
Tsikhanouskaya and Latushka have been two of the highest profile opposition figures sentenced by Belarusian courts after the 2020 presidential election, widely considered to be fraudulent. According to Belarusian human rights watchdogs, there are almost 1,500 political prisoners in the country, including opposition activists, civil society representatives and journalists.
