Belarus opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova has been sentenced to 11 years in jail by a court in Minsk, after she was arrested along with lawyer Maxim Znak last year for leading the mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.

Znak was sentenced to 10 years in jail after the two opposition activists were accused of violating national security and conspiring to seize power. The pair who had joined the coordination council following the national elections had denied the charges and lawyers have said they will appeal.

Kolesnikova was one of three women including opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Veronika Tsepkalo to spearhead the mass protests that followed the results of the August 2020 elections in Belarus, which many believe were rigged to keep Lukashenko in power.

READ MORE

Masks for all as French schools return

Poland declares emergency over Belarus border

The drones fighting rural poverty

She stayed in Belarus after Tikhanovskaya and Tsepkalo left the country and is one of more than 650 political prisoners in police custody since the protests began according to other activists.

She has been in custody for 11 months after ripping up her passport to avoid deportation when Belarus KGB agents drove her to the border with Ukraine last September.

On Monday, Kolesnikova and Znak showed defiance while awaiting sentencing in the courtroom, which had been closed off to the public during the trial. 

Kolesnikova made a heart-shaped symbol with her hands, which she often did during the protests, while Znak told journalists and photographers: "Dear spectators, we are happy to see you," despite attempts by police to prevent him from speaking in the courtroom.

Western countries, which have already sanctioned Belarus for its treatment of opposition activists, reacted with outrage to the sentencing.

Germany called it "unjustified," with foreign ministry spokesperson Andrea Sasse saying the sentencing is a "ruthless continuation of oppression and intimidation by the Belarus regime against opposition politicians and civil society."

The European Union condemned the verdict as a "blatant disrespect" of rights. While the UK called it an "assault on the defenders of democracy and freedom," with the country's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab saying Lukashenko's regime "must halt this repression and release all political detainees."

_{Cover image: Ramil NASIBULIN / BELTA / AFP}