A former Belarusian teacher has been sentenced to two years in prison over her posts on Telegram commenting on unprecedented rallies against strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka that erupted after last year's controversial presidential election.
A court in the southern city of Mazyr on November 8 found Iryna Harashyna guilty of organizing and preparing activities that "blatantly" violate social order and illegal activities to gain private information.
Charges against Harashyna stemmed from her posts in a Telegram channel that was declared extremist by Belarusian authorities earlier this year.
The trial was held behind closed doors, and it is unknown how the defendant pleaded.
Also on November 8, the Supreme Court shut down the Belarusian Language Society.
Society Chairwoman Alena Anisim said after the ruling was pronounced that the group's two newspapers in the Belarusian language will have to stop operations now.
In recent months, Belarusian courts have branded several civil society and rights groups extremist, forcing them to shut down as part of a sweeping crackdown in the wake of mass protests triggered by the presidential poll, which Lukashenka said he had won by a landslide but which the opposition and West say was rigged.
On November 10 and 19, the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the possible liquidation of the Belarusian Popular Front opposition party and For Freedom movement, respectively.
Former Belarusian Teacher Jailed For Two Years For Telegram Posts
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
U.S., Canadian Warplanes Intercept Russian, Chinese Military Aircraft Near Alaska
2Crowdsourcing Russia's Future: Poll Of Experts Considers What Comes After Putin
3Russia Attacks Ukrainian Danube Port For Second Day As NATO Scrambles Warplanes Over Romania
4Turkey Detains Russian Man Suspected Of Car Bombing In Moscow
5Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
6Ukrainian Forces Fight Intense Battles In Donetsk Region, Zelenskiy Says
7Pentagon Finds Another $2 Billion Of Accounting Errors For Ukraine Aid
8'Don't Even Whisper In Your Language': Russian Course For Central Asians Lays Down Strict Rules
9Bulgarian President Admits Blocking Pro-Western Envoy To Kyiv
10Under Relentless Russian Attacks, Ukrainian Power Plant Workers Race To Get The Lights Back On
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
