MINSK -- The trial of a Belarusian rights activist who was extradited to Minsk from Russia last August will be held on April 10, the Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center said on March 17.
Judge Tatsyana Falkouskaya of the Minsk City Court will try Yana Pinchuk, who is accused of inciting social hatred, creating an extremist group, involvement in the creation of a terrorist group, calling to disrupt the constitutional order, and inflicting damage to the country’s security, Vyasna said.
Pinchuk's supporters and rights defenders insist that the charges are politically motivated to punish her for joining protests after Belarus's authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka was declared the winner of an August 2020 presidential election despite allegations of widespread voter fraud, triggering Western sanctions.
Police in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, arrested Pinchuk in early November 2021 at the request of Belarus.
Belarusian authorities accuse Pinchuk of administering the Vitsebsk97% Telegram channel, which had been critical of Lukashenka's regime and has been labeled as extremist in Belarus.
Pinchuk has rejected all of the charges saying she immediately closed the Telegram channel after it was officially designated as extremist.
She is one of many Belarusians who have faced multiple charges linked to the mass protests following Lukashenka's contested reelection.
Thousands have been arrested and much of the opposition leadership has been jailed or forced into exile. Several protesters have been killed and there have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown.
Belarusian authorities have also shut down several NGOs and independent media outlets.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the 2020 vote and imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the crackdown.