In the ex-Soviet republic of Belarus, a trial for high treason has begun in absentia against opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya, who fled into exile. Tichanowskaja and four other defendants who have also fled are accused of conspiracy with the aim of unconstitutionally seizing power and forming an extremist group, the Belarusian state news agency Belta reported at the start of the trial on Tuesday.
Tichanovskaya challenged the authoritarian long-term ruler Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential elections in 2020 and is considered by many election observers to be the true winner of the vote. After the 68-year-old was declared the winner, there were unprecedented demonstrations in Belarus, which had Lukashenko brutally crushed. Tikhanovskaya, who helped lead the protests, was forced to go into exile in Lithuania. There she founded a government in exile in the summer.
Tichanovskaya himself described the procedure as a “farce”. She has still not been informed of the exact allegations against her, she wrote in her Telegram channel.