A Minsk court Monday sentenced two Belarusian opposition figures to lengthy jail terms in what the State Department has called further evidence of “the regime’s …
A Minsk court Monday sentenced two Belarusian opposition figures to lengthy jail terms in what the State Department has called further evidence of “the regime’s total disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms” of its citizens. Maria Kolesnikova, a member of a so-called “coordination council’ that opposed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the run-up to his widely disputed re-election win last summer, was sentenced to 11 years for conspiracy to overthrow the government. Maxim Znak, a lawyer who served on the same opposition council with Ms. Kolensnikova, was sentenced to 10 years for similar charges. “Ms. Kalesnikava and Mr. Znak deserved a transparent judicial determination of the bogus charges levied against them, which they did not receive,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Monday.
