MINSK -- The Minsk-based Vyasna human rights center says two people associated with it have gone on trial along with a group of eight others for their activism against the regime of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
The group said on April 25 that the trial behind closed doors had begun against one of its coordinators, Marfa Rabkova, and a volunteer, Andrey Chapyuk, along with the other activists.
In all, Rabkova faces an array of 13 charges for allegedly organizing and encouraging activities that violated civil order, publicly calling for activities that threatened national security, creating an extremist formation, running an extremist organization, inciting social hatred, hooliganism, vandalism, damaging private property, and for illegal activities with the use of explosives.
If found guilty on all charges, Rabkova could be imprisoned for up to 20 years. Chapyuk is charged with taking part in mass disorder and vandalism.
Other defendants include anarchists Akikhira Hayeuski-Khanada, Alyaksandr Frantskevich, Alyaksandr Kazlyanka, anti-racist Andrey Marach, and activists Paval Shpetny, Alyaksey Halauko, Danil Chulya, and Mikita Dranets. They all face charges similar to ones faced by Rabkova.
Rabkova, who has rejected all of the allegations as politically motivated, was arrested in September 2020 and initially charged with helping prepare mass disorder, a charge that carries a prison sentence of up to three years.
Police in Belarus have violently cracked down on protesters, with thousands of detentions following a disputed presidential election in August 2020 that demonstrators and opposition figures say was rigged to extend Lukashenka's 26-year rule.
There have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces, and several people have died.
Many of Belarus's opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country, while Lukashenka, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, has refused to negotiate with the opposition.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote, and imposed sanctions on him and his allies, citing election fraud and the police crackdown, which has also been aimed at press freedoms.