More Belarusian activists went on trial on September 9 on charges including allegations of support for a group called INeedHelpBy that assists political prisoners and their families.
Judge Vyachaslau Tuleyka of the Minsk regional court is presiding over the trial of 62-year-old activist Alena Totskaya, who is charged with "facilitating extremist activities" over alleged involvement with INeedHelpBY.
That group was labeled as extremist in January and dozens of activists reportedly associated with it, including Totskaya, have since been arrested.
Human right groups have recognized Totskaya as a political prisoner.
Also on September 9, the Hrodna regional court in the country's west started the trial of 26-year-old Katsyaryna Mendryk, who is also charged with facilitating extremist activities.
Mendryk was arrested on January 28 after she returned to Belarus from Poland, where she was alleged to have wired money and sent parcels to political prisoners.
After mass arrests in January of individuals involved in financial and other types of support of political prisoners and their families, about 30 activists were charged with facilitating extremist activities and 126 men and women were either fined or jailed on administrative charges.
A court in another western city, Brest, on September 9 started the trial of 10 activists over their alleged participation in unprecedented mass rallies after a presidential election in 2020 against the official results that declared Alyaksandr Lukashenka the winner.
Those activists have been charged with "taking part in activities that blatantly disrupt social order."
Thousands of people have been detained over protests following the 2020 election results, and rights groups have documented cases of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people died during the crackdown.
Lukashenka, who has run 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.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries don't recognize Lukashenka as the winner of the vote and have imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the crackdown.