The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has condemned the trial ‘in absentia’ of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the main opposition leader in Belarus, and sees in this process a new «abuse of judicial power» by President Alexander Lukashenko.
A Belarusian court on Tuesday opened a trial against Tikhanovskaya, President Lukashenko’s main rival in the 2020 elections, and four other opposition leaders — including Pavel Latushka — charged with a battery of crimes including conspiracy.
According to Borrell, the five defendants face «fabricated» charges of treason, extremism, conspiracy and incitement to hatred, and face possible prison sentences of up to 20 years just for «exercising their democratic rights.»
The EU has warned that these trials come after the Lukashenko regime took «similar measures» just a week ago against Ales Bialiatski, the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner, and journalist and board member of the Independent Union of Poles in Belarus, Andrzej Paczobut.
In this context, Borrell warned that «the political repression of the Lukashenko regime has reached an unprecedented level», pointing out that there are currently «more than 1,440 political prisoners» in Belarus.
«Arbitrary legislation deprives citizens of fundamental rights, including the new law that allows depriving Belarusians living abroad of their citizenship,» added Borrell, who considers this to be a «continuous violation of the rights and freedoms of the Belarusian population.»
Finally, the highest representative of European diplomacy has conveyed the firm condemnation of the EU against the «brutal repression» and political trials aimed at «silencing any independent voice and closing any space for democratic debate».
The trial started on Tuesday in Minsk without the presence of the five defendants. In addition to Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian authorities are also trying Maria Moroz, Olga Kovalkova and Sergei Dilevski, linked to the alternative opposition council to Lukashenko, as well as the aforementioned Latushko.
Lawyers for several defendants have unsuccessfully applied at the first hearing to interrupt the trial, according to the official BelTA news agency. Tikhanovskaya has denounced on social networks that she is charged with more than ten crimes, but has downplayed the validity of the trial.
For Tikhanovskaya it is «the dictator Lukashenko» and his allies who should end up sitting in a dock. «We will continue to fight to bring real justice back to Belarus, free all political prisoners and ensure that those who have committed crimes against the population are held accountable,» she promised on her Twitter profile.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)