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Belarusian Presidential Elections 2020
image copyrightReuters
Belarusian protest organizer Maria Kolesnikova has been charged with incitement to undermine national security, authorities say.
Three women have led a mass opposition movement, but she is the only one who did not go into exile.
Ms. Kolesnikova is said to have tore her passport when the authorities tried to expel her from the country.
Over the past five Sundays, at least 100,000 people have protested what was seen as a fraudulent election.
President Alexander Lukashenko claimed an overwhelming victory in the August 9 elections, but a brutal crackdown on initial protests against the result only fueled popular anger.
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Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who opposed Lukashenko as an opposition candidate, said he won the election. She was forced to flee to Lithuania shortly after.
The third of the three women, Veronika Tsepkalo, has also left the country.
“It was said that if I did not voluntarily leave the Republic of Belarus, they would take me out anyway, alive or in pieces. There were also threats to imprison me for up to 25 years,” she said in a statement submitted by her. attorney.
On Wednesday, the Investigation Committee said in a statement that Ms Kolesnikova had been charged on Monday with calling for “actions aimed at undermining Belarusian national security” using the media and the internet.
Meanwhile, Ms Tikhanovskaya told the BBC that the opposition was ready to speak to Russia about its attempts to overthrow Lukashenko.
He said he regretted President Putin’s decision to back Lukashenko, whom he said was a dictator.
