Belarusian activist reportedly convicted of ‘inciting social hatred’ He was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
Anastasia Loika, 34, was reportedly found guilty of “inciting social hatred” for her work documenting alleged police abuses against political opponents. APs. According to reports, she was tried behind closed doors at the Minsk City Court in Belarus. insider.
Belarus sentences human rights activist Nasta Loika to seven years in prisonhttps://t.co/WgpXQMIQts
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Loika had previously reportedly spent five consecutive 15-day detention periods between September and December 2022 on charges of “minor hooliganism” and was stripped of her medication and winter clothing. . Amnesty International. (Report: Belarus says it has nuclear weapons and threatens to use them)
Pavel Sapelka, head of the Belarusian human rights group Viasna, said Loika “like other Belarusian political prisoners has gone through all the circles of hell,” according to the Associated Press. Roika is one of 1,496 he is. Viasna said there were a large number of political prisoners in Belarus as of Tuesday.
More than 35,000 people were arrested in protests following the controversial election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020.Other high-profile imprisonments in Belarus include the imprisonment of a Nobel laureate and the founder of Vyasna Ares Bialiatzkyand opposition politicians Andrey Zumitriou.
Lukashenko is reportedly Belarus’ first and only president since 1994. president’s news agency.