The verdict has already been condemned by several Western officials, including Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs.
The verdict against blogger and civic activist Sergei Cihanouski and his associates was handed over in the Gomel remand center. It was previously predicted that it would be severe.
A Belarusian court has sentenced oppositionan Chihanuski to 18 years in a strict regime colony
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Cihanouskis, who was replaced by his wife Sviatlan Cihanouska in the presidential election, has been found guilty of organizing riots, inciting social hatred, disrupting the Central Election Commission and disrupting public order.
Artyom Sakov and Dmitry Popov have also been sentenced to 16 years in prison for similar charges. Igor Losik and Vladimir Ciganovic have been sentenced to 15 years in prison, and former presidential candidate Nikolai Statkevich will be forced to spend 14 years behind bars.
CONTEXT:
Cihanouskis is in custody since he was arrested during a pre-election rally on 29 May 2020.
In November, a working group on arbitrary detention under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council demanded that the Belarussian government release Cihanouski and pay him compensation.
The Working Party considered that Mr Cihanouskis had been arrested without a legal basis and that a number of his fundamental rights had been violated, including the right to a fair trial.
The Belarussian authorities have so far ignored UN demands.
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