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A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 7 March 2023
Belarus sentences exiled opposition leader to 15 years

By YURAS KARMANAU cate and the 2022 No-
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A bel Peace Prize laureate,
court in Belarus on Mon- Ales Bialiatski, was among
day sentenced exiled op- those arrested. He was sen-
position leader Sviatlana tenced to 10 years in prison
Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years last week.
in prison after a trial in ab- Tsikhanouskaya ran against
sentia on charges includ- Lukashenko instead of her
ing conspiring to overthrow husband, popular opposi-
the government, the latest tion politician Siarhei Tsikha-
move in a months-long ef- nouski who was arrested in
fort by the Belarusian gov- the middle of his campaign
ernment to suppress dis- in 2020 and has been sen-
sent. tenced to 18 years in prison.
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Last month, a court in Belar-
authoritarian President Al- us added 18 more months
exander Lukashenko in to Tsikhanouski’s sentence
Aug. 2020, in an election over alleged violations of
that handed him his sixth prison regulations.
term in office and was Tsikhanouski maintained
widely seen as rigged. She his innocence during the
called her conviction and trial that was held behind
sentence an act of ven- closed doors, according
geance by Belarusian au- Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Democratic Forces of Belarus, speaks at the World to the Viasna human rights
thorities and vowed to con- Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 19, 2023. Associated Press center, Belarus’ most prom-
tinue to “fight for freedom.” inent rights group. For two
The results of the vote trig- Belta, showed an empty on me and all Belarusians -- for five years from holding months, the politician was
gered the largest protests defendants’ cage. The it takes revenge for the fact public office. Maryya Ma- held “in inhumane condi-
in the country’s history. charges against them also that we chose freedom in roz, Volha Kavalkova and tions” in an isolation cell,
Lukashenko unleashed a included creating and 2020, for not resigning, not Siarhei Dylevski were hand- the group said.
brutal crackdown on dem- leading an extremist group, giving in, but continuing to ed 12-year sentences. Viasna has counted a total
onstrators, accusing the inciting hatred and harm- fight,” Tsikhanouskaya said. All of them left Belarus af- of 1,456 political prisoners in
opposition of plotting to ing national security. “If Lukashenko could, he ter the protests erupted in Belarus.
overthrow the government, Tsikhanouskaya told the would have jailed every- August 2020. The demon- Tsikhanouskaya said that
and Tsikhnouskaya left to Associated Press in an in- one,” she added. strations were the largest repression in Belarus is inten-
Lithuania under pressure. terview that her court-ap- In addition to the prison and the most sustained sifying, and every day 15-20
Other key politicians and pointed lawyer hasn’t been sentence, Tsikhnaouskaya since Lukashenko assumed people in the country are
activists were either arrest- in touch with her once dur- was ordered to pay a fine office in 1994. He has run being jailed, which “shows
ed or pressured to leave ing the trial and has not re- of about $11,000. Another the country with an iron fist how little confidence the
the country. sponded to her requests to exiled opposition politi- ever since. His government regime has in itself.”
Tsikhanouskaya and four review the case files. cian, Pavel Latushka, was unleashed a brutal crack- “If Lukashenko thinks that
other opposition figures She charged that the law sentenced to 18 years in down against the protest- this jailing regime will stop
were tried in their absence and the justice system in prison. Latushka, who once ers, detaining more than me, will stop the Belaru-
in the Belarusian capital, Belarus no longer work, and served as Belarus’ minister 35,000 and beating thou- sians, it is mistaken — we will
Minsk. Photos from the the state “has turned into of culture and then as am- sands. continue to fight for free-
courtroom, released by Be- one big KGB.” bassador in several Europe- The country’s most promi- dom all the more actively,”
larus’ state news agency “The regime takes revenge an nations, was also barred nent human rights advo- she said.q

Iran leader: Those who poisoned

schoolgirls deserve death

mitting an “unforgivable gious extremists targeting ered by investigators, with-
crime.” It was the first time women’s education. out elaborating. He called
Supreme Leader Ayatollah “If the poisoning of students on the public to remain
Ali Khamenei, who has the is proven, those behind this calm and accused un-
final say on all matters of crime should be sentenced named enemies of incit-
state, has spoken publicly to capital punishment and ing fear to undermine the
about the suspected poi- there will be no amnesty Islamic Republic. Vahidi
sonings, which began late for them,” Khamenei said, said at least 52 schools had
last year and have sick- according to the state-run been affected by suspect-
In this picture released by the official website of the office of the ened hundreds of children. IRNA news agency. ed poisonings, while Iranian
Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iranian officials only ac- Authorities have acknowl- media reports have put
speaks after planting a tree marking National Tree Planting Day, knowledged them in re- edged suspected attacks the number of schools at
at the courtyard of his office in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 6, cent weeks and have pro- at more than 50 schools over 60. At least one boy’s
2023. vided no details on who across 21 of Iran’s 30 prov- school reportedly has been
Associated Press may be behind the attacks inces since November. affected. Videos of upset
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- sonings at girls’ schools are or what chemicals — if any Iran’s Interior Minister Ah- parents and schoolgirls in
ates (AP) — Iran’s supreme proven to be deliberate — have been used. Unlike mad Vahidi said over the emergency rooms with IVs
leader said Monday that if the culprits should be sen- neighboring Afghanistan, weekend that “suspicious in their arms have flooded
a series of suspected poi- tenced to death for com- Iran has no history of reli- samples” had been gath- social media.q