Criminal trials in Belarus - State power against opponents of the regime
The situation for protesters in Belarus is getting worse. Criminal trials against opponents of the regime are taking place across the country. This also affects prominent representatives, such as the Nobel Prize for Literature Svetlana Alexievich.
The Belarusian government is putting the protesters under increasing pressure. Criminal trials against opponents of the regime are taking place across the country. For the first time, two presidium members of the so-called Coordination Council of the opposition were convicted yesterday. It met the lawyer Olga Kowalkowa and Sergej Dylewskij, representatives of the strikers in the Minsk tractor plant. They are accused of organizing an unauthorized strike. You have to go to jail for ten days.
Leaders are picked
The incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko is now taking targeted action against important people in the protest movement, says Andrzej Poczobut, correspondent for the TV channel Belsat in Grodno in western Belarus:
“He's slowly but surely tightening the screws. The security forces pick out the leaders precisely. This applies to Grodno, but also to the whole country. The focus is on those who appeared in public at demonstrations that were active on the Internet. They are arrested and intimidated, they and their families too. "
“He's slowly but surely tightening the screws. The security forces pick out the leaders precisely. This applies to Grodno, but also to the whole country. The focus is on those who appeared in public at demonstrations that were active on the Internet. They are arrested and intimidated, they and their families too. "
Even the most prominent protesters cannot feel safe. The public prosecutor's office has ordered the Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexievich for interrogation today. The 72-year-old is also a member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council. Since Lukashenko insinuates that he is planning a coup d'état, Alexievich faces several years' imprisonment.
Tichanovskaya: "No geopolitical revolution"
Lukashenko's opponent in the presidential election, Svetlana Tichanovskaya, was connected to a session of the EU Parliament via the Internet yesterday. She said: “Last Sunday, the largest public demonstration in Belarusian history took place. More than 200,000 people were on the streets in the capital Minsk. Belarus is awake. We are no longer the opposition, we are the majority. A peaceful revolution is taking place here. "
Tichanovskaya thanked the EU for their support. The heads of state and government had decided last week not to recognize Lukashenko as the winner of the falsified presidential election. Despite the support from the West, Tichanovskaya made it clear: “The revolution in Belarus is not a geopolitical revolution. It is neither pro-Russian nor anti-Russian. It is neither anti-EU nor pro-EU, it is a democratic revolution. "
Tichanovskaya contradicted the claims of President Lukashenko and leading politicians in the Russian government. They had declared that the Belarusian opposition wanted to turn the country west. They also accused the EU of organizing the protests and even provoking bloodshed. Neither Lukashenko nor the Kremlin provided evidence for these allegations.
Even if the situation for the protesters is getting more and more difficult, they celebrated a success yesterday evening. Dozens of angry citizens gathered in front of a police prison in Grodno. 28 workers from the local chemical company had previously been arrested. They'd just walked through the city center in silence after work. At around 9 p.m. local time, the police released her.
Even if the situation for the protesters is getting more and more difficult, they celebrated a success yesterday evening. Dozens of angry citizens gathered in front of a police prison in Grodno. 28 workers from the local chemical company had previously been arrested. They'd just walked through the city center in silence after work. At around 9 p.m. local time, the police released her.
