MINSK -- The widow of a Belarusian man who was killed in a shoot-out with KGB officers in his apartment in Minsk has gone on trial on a charge of being an accomplice in the incident.
Maria Uspenskaya's trial started on May 31 behind closed doors, the Minsk-based Vyasna human rights center said.
Details remain unclear around the September 2021 shooting that resulted in the deaths of Andrey Zeltsar, a man working for the U.S.-based IT company EPAM, and KGB officer Dzmitry Fedasyuk.
Authorities claimed at the time that "an especially dangerous criminal" had opened fire on security officers after they showed up at his apartment looking for "individuals involved in terrorist activities."
According to Vyasna, Judge Valyantsina Zyankevich will most likely rule that Uspenskaya is not mentally fit, as her mental state was severely affected by the deadly incident. Uspenskaya is likely to be sent to a psychiatric clinic by the court, the rights group added.
Belarus witnessed unprecedented anti-government protests that erupted after the results of a presidential election in August 2020 handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka his sixth consecutive term.
Opposition groups say the vote was rigged, while many Western governments have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the winner.
In response to months of street protests, the government has arrested thousands. Fearing for their safety, most leading opposition figures have left the country.
