Amid an ongoing crackdown on civil society groups and free speech in Belarus, activist Palina Sharenda-Panasyuk, who finished serving a prison term in early August but was not released, has gone on trial again, this time on a charge of "blatantly violating the penitentiary regulations."
Judge Stanislau Ivanyutsenka of the Rechytsa district court in the country's southeastern region of Homel began the trial on October 2.
Sharenda-Panasyuk was initially arrested in 2021 and sentenced to two years in prison for insulting the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and allegedly assaulting a police officer.
She was scheduled to be released on August 6 but instead she was remanded in custody and the new charge was brought against her. If convicted, she faces as much as another year in prison.
The Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
Belarusian human rights organizations have declared Sharenda-Panasyuk a political prisoner. Earlier this year, Sharenda-Panasyuk renounced her Belarusian citizenship to protest against her incarceration.
Also on October 2, the Prosecutor-General's Office said it had launched several investigations against the Rada (Council) of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (BNR) in exile -- an advocacy group promoting support for Belarusian independence and democracy among Western policymakers.
The BNR, known as the oldest existing government in exile, once governed the Belarusian Democratic Republic between 1917 and 1919 before moving into exile after the Bolsheviks took over.
According to the Belarusian Prosecutor-General's Office, "BNR's leadership in exile coordinates activities with other extremist organizations, establishes contacts with armed groups involved in developments in Ukraine, of which Belarusian citizens are members."
Many journalists, rights activists, and representatives of democratic institutions have been jailed in Belarus since an August 2020 presidential election that opposition politicians, ordinary Belarusians, and Western governments said was rigged.
Thousands have been detained during protests across the country over the results and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people have died during the crackdown.
Lukashenka has refused to negotiate with the opposition and many of its leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote and imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the crackdown.
