MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Belarusian court on Tuesday sentenced the husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to 18 years in jail for organising mass unrest and inciting social hatred, the Belta news agency reported.
Syarhei Tsikhanouski, a video blogger, was jailed in May 2020 as he prepared to run against Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election in August that year. He denied the charges.
Tsikhanouskaya ran in her husband’s place in the election. Mass protests broke out after the vote, which the opposition accused Lukashenko of rigging.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
