According to a report by Russian satellite network on December 22, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus issued a notice through social media that a criminal case had been filed against members of the “Coordinating Committee” of the opposition organization in the country.
The Belarusian government pointed out that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the “coordinating committee”, is suspected of “establishing and leading an extremist organization to raise funds for its activities and seize state power through unconstitutional means”, which refers to the first part of article 361, “creating extremist organizations”.
The crimes stipulated in Part III of Article 361, “Incitement to take actions aimed at endangering national security” and Article 357, “Conspiring to seize state power by unconstitutional means”.
Alexander Lukashenka won the sixth presidential election in Belarus on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, he obtained 80.1% of the vote, and after the election, the Belarusian opposition began large-scale demonstrations.
The opposition believes that Tikhanovskaya won and made a request for power transfer and new elections. Tikhanovskaya went to Lithuania soon after the election, and her children were sent to Lithuania early.
The Attorney General’s Office of Belarus has initiated criminal proceedings for the appeal for power grabbing. Tikanovskaya was one of the subjects of prosecution and was included in the international wanted lists of Belarus and Russia.
