The Minsk City Court on February 15 handed lengthy prison terms to six former Belarusian law enforcement officers who backed protests in 2020 challenging the official results of the presidential election that gave authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term in office.
The six officers, all of whom left the country after the demonstrations, were sentenced in absentia.
Former officer Alyaksandr Azarau received the longest sentence, 25 years. Four others -- Matsvey Kupreychyk, Aleh Talerchyk, Ihar Loban, and Uladzimer Zhyhar -- were sentenced to 12 years each, and Andrey Astapovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
The 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.
Judge Dzina Kuchuk of the Minsk City Court sentenced the defendants after finding them guilty of inciting social hatred, plotting to forcibly seize power, and the creation of an extremist group. The judge also ordered the defendants to pay hefty fines.
The charges stem from the defendants' role in the creation while abroad of ByPol, a group that united former law enforcement officers who support opposition politicians.
In August 2022, ByPol was declared a terrorist organization by Belarus's Supreme Court.
A year later, ByPol split into two groups -- ByPol and BelPol -- following disagreements within the organization and with the Belarusian opposition in exile led by Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Thousands were detained during and after the 2020 protests, and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people died during the crackdown.
Lukashenka, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has refused to negotiate with the opposition, and many of its leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country.
Also on February 15, a court in the town of Luninents in the country's west started the trial of a local resident Alyaksandr Paliuka on charges of insulting Lukashenka, libeling Lukashenka, insulting a representative of the authorities, calls for activities compromising the country's national security, and taking part in an extremist group's activities.
The charges stem from Paliuka's online posts and comments.