MINSK -- Two Belarusian independent union leaders and an activist have been handed lengthy prison terms in Minsk as a crackdown against dissent continues under authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
A Minsk court on January 5 sentenced the leaders of the Union of Workers of Electronic Outputs Producing Industry (REP), Vasil Berasnyou and Henadz Fyadynich, to nine years in prison each. REP activist Vyachaslau Areshka was handed eight years in prison.
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.
Judge Anastasia Papko found the defendants guilty of creating an extremist organization and taking part in its activities, calls for activities damaging national security, and inciting social hatred.
Berasnyou, Fyadynich, and Areshka were arrested in April 2022 for their activities related to protests against the official results of an August 2020 presidential election that gave Lukashenka another term. Many in Belarus have said the election was rigged.
It is not known how the men pleaded in the case. Belarusian human right organizations have recognized them as political prisoners.
Lukashenka, 68, has tightened his grip on the country since the disputed election by arresting -- sometimes violently -- tens of thousands of people. Fearing for their safety, most opposition members have fled the country.
The West has refused to recognize the results of the election and does not consider Lukashenka to be the country's legitimate leader.
Many countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against his regime in response to the suppression of dissent in the country.