Judge Halina Bondal of the Vitsebsk regional court in the northeastern Belarus on July 17 began the trial in absentia of activist Andrey Zuyeu, who was a member of a group supporting opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya in the August 2020 presidential election. Zuyeu, who is currently outside of Belarus, is charged with inciting hatred, mass unrest, creating an extremist group, and insulting an official. Zuyeu was sentenced several times to short sentences of administrative detention before he fled the country in 2021 amid a crackdown on dissent. Protesters say the election was rigged to hand victory to authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus since 1994. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Belarus Service, click here.
Belarus Opens Trial Of Opposition Activist In Absentia
The Vitsebsk regional court building (file photo)