Belarus sentenced Olympic medalist Aliaksandra Herasimenia to 12 years in prison for “harming national security”

A court in Belarus sentenced former Olympic swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia and political activist Alexander Opeykin to 12 years in prison on Monday after they were found guilty of allegedly committing actions aimed at causing harm to national security.

The Minsk City Court condemned them for creating the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Fund association and “deliberately spreading false information” through the media and the Internet about the events they had during the electoral campaign for the 2020 elections, according to information from the state agency BelTA.

“They have been found guilty of making public calls to commit actions aimed at causing harm to the national security of Belarus, including the use of restrictive measures (sanctions) against Belarus, individuals and legal entities of the republic,” the text of the sentence states.

Aliaxandra Herasimenia, a three-time Olympic medalist during the London Olympic Games (2012) and the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games (2016), must serve her sentence in a general prison. Meanwhile, Opeykin will have to enter a reinforced regime prison, according to the agency.

This conviction comes more than a year after the Belarusian Olympic athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya reported at the Olympic Games in Japan that the authorities of her country were forcing her to leave Japan against her will.

The 200-meter runner had previously expressed her criticism of the Belarusian committee, led by the son of the country’s president, for forcing her to run in a relay event on short notice. The Belarusian Olympic team later announced that they had withdrawn her from the competition due to her “emotional and psychological state”.

Belarus was shaken by huge protests after the disputed elections of August 2020, which Lukashenko claims to have won and which are considered fraudulent by both the Belarusian opposition and the West. The authorities responded to the protests with a strong crackdown where more than 35,000 people were arrested and thousands were beaten by police. As a result, the West imposed punitive economic sanctions.

In addition to the jail sentence, the court ordered the confiscation of Herasimenia’s apartment, her car and $48,000 in her bank accounts.

According to the main human rights group in Belarus, Viasna, there are 1,439 political prisoners currently in the country.

Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has also been persecuted and lives in exile in Lithuania, condemned the sentences imposed on Herasimenia and Opeikin on Monday.

“A disgrace! ... This is how the regime tries to punish opponents in exile,” Tsikhanouskaya tweeted. “The regime can’t stop them, but it confiscated their property in Belarus, including a car and an apartment.”

This article was originally published on infobae.com