A Minsk court on Monday sentenced five people accused by the Belarusian prosecutor’s office of plotting a coup to prison terms of up to 11 years. Those convicted include opposition leaders, political scientists or lawyers with US passports, the human rights group Vyasna reported.
A judge sentenced political scientist and literary critic Aryaksandr Fijadut to 10 years in prison for participating in a “conspiracy to gain power in an unconstitutional manner.” he received the same sentence.
The maximum sentence of five convictions, 11 years in prison, was handed down to Juras Zjankovič, a Belarusian-American attorney who is also known as the group’s leader. Activist Janice Krauchuk and lawyer Volha Harbovichova are sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
The five people charged in the case were arrested in April 2021 and have remained in custody since. The KGB, the Belarusian secret police, and his Russian counterpart, the FSB, announced at the time that they had foiled an assassination attempt on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and his sons, and had discovered a “coup”. . Lukashenko said investigators believed there was evidence that the United States was involved in the scheme.
Fjaduta has previously said the “coup” was orchestrated by KGB officers infiltrating the Belarusian intelligence services and the group. Its members participated in online meetings to discuss the future of Belarus and possible changes in the country. According to Viasna, “some radical proposals” were also made in the meantime.
Jankovic and Khujaduta later agreed to an offer to meet with members of the Belarusian security forces at a restaurant in Moscow. They were provoked into making various remarks during the meeting and were arrested shortly afterward by his FSB in Russia, the human rights group said.
The year before last, Belarus was rocked by unprecedented mass demonstrations following Lukashenko’s sixth victory in presidential elections, according to official results. Opposition parties and some Western countries claim the results were rigged. Security forces brutally crushed the protests, arresting tens of thousands and beating thousands. Vyasna estimates there are about 1,300 political prisoners in the country.
VIDEO: Lukashenko showed the little pioneers a “trick” with a bottle.the whole hall applauded him
Lukashenko showed the little pioneers a “trick” with a bottle. The whole hall applauded him. | | Video: Aktuálně.cz/Twitter/Francis Scarr
