MINSK -- A new criminal case has been brought against opposition video blogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski, who has already been sentenced to 18 years in prison, Belarusian authorities said on January 16.
The Investigative Committee of Belarus said Tsikhanouski now faces charges of "malicious disobedience to the requirements of the administration of a correctional institution."
In December 2021, a Belarusian court behind closed doors handed down harsh sentences to a group of bloggers and opposition activists, including Tsikhanouski, a leading opposition figure who was arrested after expressing his willingness to challenge Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the 2020 presidential election.
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.
Tsikhanouski is married to Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the election campaign after her husband's detention and ran against Lukashenka but has since been forced to flee Belarus out of concern for her safety and now lives in Lithuania.
The official election tally has been widely criticized as fraudulent and led to massive street protests against the authoritarian government. Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters claim that she won the vote.
Belarus is scheduled on January 17 to try Tsikhanouskaya and several of her allies in absentia on charges of treason, mass rioting, the creation of an extremist group, conspiracy to seize power, and calling for international sanctions against Belarus.
Speaking to AFP on January 16 from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she labeled the upcoming trial "a farce" and an act of "revenge" by Lukashenka.
"These trials are not trials at all. It's a show. It's farce, but it has nothing to do with justice at all," Tsikhanouskaya said.
The European Union and the United States refuse to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus after he claimed a landslide victory in the election.
Rights groups consider Tsikhanouski and the five others sentenced along with him to be political prisoners.
Tsikhanouski was the owner of a popular Belarusian YouTube channel called "The Country for Life" when he announced his willingness to run against Lukashenka early in 2020. He had used the channel to challenge and criticize Lukashenka.
He was arrested in May 2020 shortly after election officials rejected his candidacy.