The Investigative Committee (IC) of Belarus reported that it had handed over to the General Prosecutor’s Office all the necessary documents to demand from Lithuania the extradition of the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. This is reported by TASS.
The department noted that persons from Tikhanovskaya’s inner circle were preparing to seize administrative buildings. At a meeting of the opposition with its participation in August 2020, a plan for organizing riots was discussed, law enforcement officials said.
The UK also posted a video of the meeting. According to the explanations of the investigators, on the recording, Tikhanovskaya is discussing the planning of mass riots with her associates. She says: “Even if Tikhanovskaya becomes president for some unknown reason, you understand that I can’t cope with anything alone! I’ll lie under the blanket, cover myself, and I won’t go anywhere!”.
Tikhanovskaya herself has not yet commented on the situation, but expressed confidence that the protests in Belarus will resume at the end of March.
On December 21, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus opened a criminal case against Tikhanovskaya and other oppositionists on the creation of an extremist group. Prior to that, proceedings were instituted on the fact of the activities of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition. The UK believes that its members committed actions aimed at destabilizing the socio-political, economic and informational situation and causing harm to the national security of Belarus.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is the wife of the popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who is under arrest. In the presidential elections on August 9, she received 10 percent of the vote, and Alexander Lukashenko, who ran for a sixth term, received 80 percent. The official results sparked massive protests across Belarus that continue to this day. Tikhanovskaya herself left for Lithuania.