Belarus sentences an Olympic medalist critical of Lukashenko to 12 years in prison in absentia

Aliaksandra Herasimenia, after winning the bronze medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016.Adam Pretty (Getty Images)

Former swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia, one of the most prominent Belarusian athletes in recent decades, was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in Belarus accused of creating "an extremist formation," the Viasna rights defense association announced Monday.

Herasimenia, 36 years old and triple Olympic medalist (two silvers at the London Olympics in 2012 and bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016), was sentenced by a Minsk court at the end of a process that began on December 19, Viasna said. .

According to this NGO, the swimmer, who retired in 2019 and lives in exile, was also found guilty for having demanded "sanctions against Belarus", as well as for "spreading false information about events" that occurred in that country in 2020, during the unprecedented protests against the fraudulent re-election of Aleksandr Lukashenko, in power since 1994. Herasimenia is also accused of carrying out various actions that "endanger national security."

After the 2020 protests, Herasimenia signed an open letter along with other athletes from her country demanding "free elections" and created the Belarusian Foundation for Sports Solidarity, which financially and legally helps Belarusian athletes persecuted by the authorities, who consider this entity as an “extremist formation”.

In April 2021, the swimmer auctioned the gold medal obtained at the 2012 Istanbul World Cups for 13,500 euros with the intention of raising funds to help opposing athletes.

The swimmer also criticized Lukashenko's support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of 2022, the beginning of which last February surprised him in kyiv.

"Ukraine has never been our enemy, it is a brother nation," declared Herasimenia in the first days of the war.

Shortly after,

Along with Herasimenia, whose specialty was the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, Alexandr Opeinik, another of the founders of the Belarusian Foundation for Sports Solidarity, was also sentenced this Monday in absentia and to the same sentence of 12 years in prison, as reported the official Belta news agency.

In a separate case, this Monday Alexander Yarochouk, a prominent union representative, was also sentenced to four years in prison for “seriously undermining public order” in 2020, Viasna said in a statement.

For more than two years, the Belarusian authorities have been carrying out a relentless repression against any movement opposing the Lukashenko regime, which is why most opposition figures are imprisoned or living in exile.

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