Belarus opposition urges international investigation into Lukashenko’s crimes
Prague, Jun 9 (EFE).- The leader of the Belarusian opposition in exile Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Wednesday called for an international investigation into the alleged crimes committed by the regime of authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.
“I urge the initiation of an international court to lead the investigation into the crimes of Lukashenko’s dictatorship in the past and during the 2020 elections,” Tikhanovskaya said at the Czech Senate during a five day visit to the country.
The opposition leader denounced the violence and terror perpetrated by the Belarus regime against its own people and called on Prague to lead a criminal case against Lukashenko.
Thousands of people have been imprisoned over the past year in Belarus for participating in peaceful protests and for wearing the wrong color trousers — referring to red and white that have become a symbol of the opposition movement — Tikhanovskaya said.
“If the civilized world finds it unacceptable that a country of nine million people in Europe is controlled by a group of terrorists, they have many tools to stop it,” she added.
Tikhanovskaya demanded the Belarusian intelligence services, the KGB and national office against organized crime be investigated as organized crime outfits that cause terror among the population.
The opposition leader ran against Lukashenko in August and is currently in exile living in Lithuania after Lukashenko claimed victory in the polls, which opposition activists and international observers denounced as fraudulent.
Lukashenko has been president of the former-Soviet nation since 1994. He maintains close ties to Russia.
The UK, United States and Czech Republic are among international nations that do not recognize the election results.
The election campaign and aftermath sparked the largest demonstrations in the country’s history.
Belarus has received international attention recently after authorities forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk on May 23 to take dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend into custody.
In response, the European Union slapped fresh sanctions on Minsk and banned Belarusian aircraft from EU airspace and airports. EFE
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