Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya: Husband's 18-Year Prison Sentence Is Alyaksandr Lukashenka's 'Personal Revenge'

In an interview with Current Time, 2020 Belarusian presidential candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya condemned the 18-year prison sentence handed down to her husband, imprisoned blogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski, on December 14 as "personal revenge" by Belarus' Alyaksandr Lukashenka for opposition to his de facto retention of power. Tsikhanouski, who has been in prison since before the August 2020 presidential elections, was sentenced to a high-security prison for allegedly organizing mass disturbances, inciting hatred, obstructing election officials’ work, and organizing public disorder in Belarus. He denies all the charges, which opposition members, rights groups, and Western diplomats consider politically motivated.