MINSK -- A court in Minsk has sentenced four anarchist activists to lengthy prison terms amid an ongoing crackdown on those challenging the official results of last year's presidential election that handed victory to strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Minsk regional court Judge Valer Tuleyka on December 22 sentenced Ihar Alinevich and Syarhey Ramanau to 20 years in prison each, while Dzmitry Razanovich was handed 19 years, and Dzmitry Dubouski 18 years in prison.
The court found the defendants guilty of terrorism and the illegal possession and usage of weapons and explosives. Dubouski and Alinevich were also convicted of the illegal transport of firearms and explosives across state borders.
The four men were charged in late October 2020 after they were arrested while trying to cross the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. All of them reject the charges as politically motivated.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
The trial, which was held behind closed doors, started in mid-November.
Investigators said the anarchists set several police cars on fire during the protests, as well as a traffic-police building and the office of the State Forensics Committee in the southeastern Homel region.
Rights activists and opposition politicians say the poll was rigged to extend Lukashenka's 26-year rule. Thousands have been detained during nationwide protests and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people have died during the crackdown.
Many of Belarus's opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country, while Lukashenka has refused to negotiate with the opposition.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote and imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the police crackdown.
