Council of Europe Secretary General condemns trial in absentia of 20 Belarusian oppositionists
Pravda Ukraine
Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has condemned the trial in absentia against a group of experts, journalists and opposition politicians in Belarus.
Source: Council of Europe Secretary General on X (Twitter), European Pravda reports
Pejčinović Burić condemned the trial in absentia of the group on trumped-up charges.
I condemn today’s trial in absentia of Belarusian experts, journalists & opposition politicians on spurious charges. Held in blatant violation of due process, this case is part of wider political repressions @coe stands w/defendants & all who support a free & democratic Belarus
— Marija Pejčinović Burić (@MarijaPBuric) May 31, 2024
Quote: “Held in blatant violation of due process, this case is part of wider political repressions. The Council of Europe stands with defendants and all who support a free and democratic Belarus,” she said.
Background:
- On 31 May, Minsk began the trial in absentia of 20 “members of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Analytics extremist group”, including Yury Drakakhrust, a journalist of the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty, and Anna Krasulina, the press secretary of Belarusian opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya.
- In April, Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, hinted at a meeting of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly that Belarusian services could put pressure on the members of the Belarusian opposition who went abroad by targeting their relatives inside the country.
- In January, widespread raids against relatives of political prisoners and former political prisoners were reported in Belarus.
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