Belarus opens a case against a 78 -year -old worker who became a symbol of pro -democracy movement

Talin: In Belarus, officials have opened a criminal case against a 78 -year -old worker which became the face of the country’s pro -democracy protests in 2020. Viasna Human Rights Center in Belarus said on Tuesday that retired geologist Nina Bahinskaya was accused of repeatedly violating Belarus laws and organizing protests. The authorities accused Bahinskaya of repeatedly walking on the streets of the Belarusian capital, which displays striped symbols with white, red and white: the same colors that are used by the opposition of Belarus’ democracy. If found guilty, the worker has to face a jail of up to three years. Bahinskaya is one of the most recognizable faces of the pro -democracy movement of Belarus, which reached its peak during mass protests in the summer of 2020, the country’s ruling leader, Alexander Lakashnco was declared President for the sixth period of consecutive period. Observers widely condemned the vote. In March, Lakashenko was sworn in in the seventh term. Bahinskaya’s disregard and caustic tongue quickly made him a popular opposition man. When the police said in 2020, she was violating a government ban on unauthorized demonstrations, she simply replied, “I am a walk” – a staggering answer that was adopted by thousands and chanting in demonstrations. “I noticed that the riot police rarely defeated the protesters when they see the elderly people among them,” he told The Associated Press at that time. “So I come out to protest as a defender, a supervisor and a witness. I am psychological and intellectually stronger than the police. Even among those who detained me, there were people who respected me.” The 2020 protests launched a wave of police violence from the Belarusian security services, and the political repression that surrounded the country of 9.5 million people. More than 65,000 people have been arrested, thousands have been beaten by police, and independent media and non -governmental organizations have been closed and have inspired condemnation and restrictions from the West. Belarus has about 1,200 political prisoners, including the Nobel Peace Prize winner Els Bialiatski. According to human rights activists, at least six political prisoners have died in jail. Bahinskaya has been detained on several occasions, with a total fine of 7,200 Belarusian rubles (about $ 2,400). As part of the case against him, Bahinskaya was detained in early May and was taken for a forced psychiatry examination, said Viasana. In April, United Nations experts reported that Belarusian authorities resumed the Soviet practice of psychiatric treatment forced as a punishment for political dissatisfaction, and that at least 33 cases of punitive psychiatry were already registered against political prisoners. “Bahinskaya is a symbol of resistance to totalitarianism within the country, and it is important for the authorities to break it,” Viana’s representative Powel Sapalka told AP. “This is a show case against an elderly person who has dedicated his entire life to the fight for freedom.” Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania and works, also condemned the case. “Today, the rule is still afraid of Nina Bahinskaya’s courage,” said Tasikanasakaya. “For decades, Nina has been standing for atrocities.”