Belarus protest leader Kolesnikova goes on trial

MOSCOW: Maria Kolesnikova, the last remaining protest leader still in Belarus, went on trial on Wednesday after 10 months in custody as the regime of Alexander Lukashenko seeks to crush all dissent.

In power since 1994, Lukashenko has been cracking down on opponents since unprecedented protests erupted after last year’s elections, deemed unfair by the West. The start of the high-profile trial comes as critics accuse the Belarusian regime of killing a dissident in neighbouring Ukraine and trying to forcibly bring an Olympic athlete home from Tokyo.

Kolesnikova, a 39-year-old former flute player in the country’s philharmonic orchestra, has become a symbol of the protest movement in Belarus. Together with opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and another campaign partner, Veronika Tsepkalo, Kolesnikova led last summer’s rallies against Lukashenko.

Kolesnikova, who had said she would not leave Belarus voluntarily, was arrested last September as she tore up her passport to resist deportation to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Kolesnikova and her lawyer Maxim Znak appeared at a closed court in the Belarusian capital.

The pair are accused of undermining national security, conspiring to seize power and creating an extremist group. They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. In a video from inside the court, Kolesnikova -- wearing a black dress and her signature red lipstick -- was seen dancing and smiling next to Znak inside the defendant's cage. She also made a heart-shaped symbol with her hands, which she often did at protest rallies.

In a written interview with the Russian Dozhd TV channel published Wednesday, she said the regime feared opening the trial because "everyone would see that the real danger and threat to Belarusian national security are the authorities themselves."

Kolesnikova is the only protest leader still in Belarus. Tikhanovskaya, who stood for president in place of her jailed husband, was forced out of the country and granted refuge in EU member Lithuania. Tsepkalo also left Belarus. Together the three women inspired a wave of female protests in the country condemned by Amnesty International for its treatment of women activists.