United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned on Tuesday Belarus' "politically motivated" decision to convict opposition figures, including opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's husband Sergey, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Blinken claimed that Belarusian courts "harshly sentenced" Sergey Tikhanovsky, as well as former presidential candidate Mikola Statkevich and Radio Liberty journalist Ihar Losik. "Regrettably, these sentences are further evidence of the regime’s disregard for these international obligations as well as for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Belarusians," Blinken claimed.
The US top diplomat also urged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end the "crackdown on members of civil society, independent media, the political opposition, athletes, students, legal professionals and other Belarusians" and "release all of the more than 900 political prisoners," including those convicted earlier in the day.
