Belarus Opposition Activist Tikhanovsky's Trial Scheduled For June 24 - Lawyer

MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2021) The trial of Belarusian opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, is scheduled for June 24, his lawyer told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Tikhanovsky is charged with plotting mass riots in Belarus following the 2020 presidential election.

"I was served notice that the trial was scheduled for June 24," Natalia Matskevich said.

According to the lawyer, the hearing will likely be held in a pre-trial detention center in the city of Gomel. It is not yet known if it will be held behind closed doors.

Belarus plunged into a prolonged political crisis after incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secured his sixth term in office in the August 2020 election. The opposition has not recognized the results, claiming electoral fraud. Mass protests followed and were initially brutally suppressed by the police. Minsk has opened criminal cases against several opposition leaders and other persons on charges linked to anti-government rallies.