MINSK -- The trial in absentia of Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her four associates has started in Minsk after they challenged the results of a 2020 election they say was rigged to keep authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka in power.
As the trial began on January 17, the Minsk City Court rejected a request by the lawyers of Tsikhanouskaya and a co-defendant, Paval Latushka, the chairman of the opposition People's Anti-Crisis Leadership group, to drop all charges against them and close the case.
Tsikhanouskaya is accused of high treason, organizing mass disorder, creating an extremist group, inciting hatred, plotting to seize power, and calling for international sanctions against Belarus.
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.
Latushka, and three other defendants -- Maria Maroz, Volha Kavalkova, and Syarhey Dylevski -- are charged with making public calls for sanctions against Belarus, inciting hatred, bribe-taking, and creating an extremist group.
All six are members of an opposition body called the Coordination Council led by Tsikhanouskaya and Latushka.
They all fled Belarus in the wake of a deadly crackdown on mass protests against the official results of the August 2020 presidential poll, which Lukashenka claims he won. The Belarusian opposition and Western governments say the election was rigged and that the real winner was Tsikhanouskaya.
Tsikhanouskaya called the trial a "farce" and "revenge" from Lukashenka, saying she had not been given access to court documents.
"These trials are not trials at all. It's a show. It's farce and it has nothing to do with justice at all," Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, said on January 16.
Latushka called the trial "a circus."
"Let's see how the constitution is being violated in Belarus -- the election was rigged, the power was usurped. The man who usurped the power violates the constitution every day, not to mention the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedural Code, as well as the Administrative Code and the Administrative Procedure Code. These laws do not work anymore. This cannot be called a trial and therefore I do not want to take part in it," Latushka told RFE/RL on January 16.
Thousands were detained in protests against the election results and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by security forces. Several people have died during the crackdown.
Lukashenka, 68, has leaned heavily on Russian support amid Western sanctions while punishing the opposition and arresting or forcing abroad many of its leaders.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka's self-declared victory in the 2020 presidential election.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement on January 17 condemning the trial and the ongoing crackdown on dissent, including the trials of other Belarusian citizens who have criticized Lukashenka and his regime.
"To respond to these human rights abuses, the State Department is announcing action to impose visa restrictions on 25 individuals under Presidential Proclamation 8015 for their involvement in undermining democracy," the statement said, adding that in all, 322 Belarusian officials had been targeted by the measures so far for their roles in the crackdown "since the fraudulent 2020 presidential election."