MINSK -- A court in Minsk has started the trial of noted Belarusian educator Yauhen Livyant, along with members of his family and associates who are all accused of charges related to mass rallies over a disputed August 2020 presidential election that kept authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka in power.
Judge Katsyaryna Murashka of Minsk’s Moscow district court opened the proceedings against Livyant, his wife Yulia, daughters Halina and Hanna, son-in-law Mikita Drozd, his associates Alyaksey Ivanov and Alyaksandra Ensayn (aka Vilchytskaya), on May 19.
They are charged with organizing and preparing actions that blatantly disrupt social order.
Hundreds of people have been handed prison terms in the unrest sparked by the presidential election, in which Lukashenka claimed victory while rights activists and opposition politicians said the poll was rigged.
Belarus witnessed unprecedented protests over the election results that lasted for several months, with security forces detaining thousands amid credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees.
Belarusian human rights organizations have recognized Livyant, his wife, daughter Hanna, and Drozd as political prisoners. The group was arrested in December.
Separately on May 18, several organizations in Belarus, including the Vyasna (Spring) human rights center, the Office for Rights Of Disabled People, the Belarus Helsinki Committee, the Belarusian Journalists' Association, the Barys Zvoskau House for Human Rights, the Lawtrend group, and the Rights Initiative, recognized 28 more men and women jailed on charges of organizing or taking part in actions that blatantly disrupt social order as political prisoners.
Overall, 1,525 people in Belarus are now on the list of political prisoners. The majority of them were incarcerated for taking part in or supporting protests against the official results of the August 2020 presidential election.
Since the election, Lukashenka, 68, has leaned heavily on Russian support amid Western sanctions while punishing the opposition and arresting or forcing many of its leaders abroad.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka's self-declared victory.