Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison

According to "RBC" with reference to the data of the BelTA agency, a criminal case against Tikhanovskaya was initiated in connection with her work in The Coordinating Council of the Opposition. Tikhanovskaya was accused of conspiracy to seize power and extremism.

This body was formed after the 2020 presidential elections, which were won by the current head of state Alexander Lukashenko for the sixth time in a row. Representatives of the opposition claimed numerous falsifications in favor of Lukashenko. They were convinced that in reality it was not Lukashenka who won the elections, but his main rival Tikhanovskaya. In protest against the election results, thousands of citizens of the country went to street rallies, which were brutally suppressed by the security forces.

During the following months, almost all of Lukashenka's political opponents who remained in the country were detained, arrested and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment under ordinary criminal articles. At the same time, Lukashenko said that there are no political prisoners in Belarus.

Tikhanovskaya left the territory of Belarus after the elections and has been in Lithuania ever since.