Photo: Still from the video
Belarusian opposition Maria Kolesnikov and Maxim Znak were sentenced by the court to 11 and 10 years in prison. Both were members of the Presidium of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian Opposition and the Electoral Staff of the former presidential candidate Viktor Babarik.
The process took place behind closed doors. Opposition leaders have been accused of plotting to seize power, call for power and create an extremist organization. Kolesnikov and Znak were detained last year. Kolesnikova was placed in Detention Center No. 8 in Zhodin and Znak – in the Preliminary Detention Center No. 1 in Minsk. They gave their last speech on September 2. They do not categorically admit their guilt.
Amnesty International has recognized Kolesnikova as a “ prisoner of conscience & # 39; & # 39 ;. And in July of this year, she was awarded the Stuttgart Peace Prize for her fight against the “ authoritarian Lukashenko regime“.