Belarus jailed top critic for 14 years: what you need to know

Picture courtesy:The Independent

1. A court in Belarus on Tuesday sentenced former Belarusian presidential contender Viktor Babariko to 14 years in prison on corruption charges, local media and Russian news agency reported.

2. Babariko said that the charges were fabricated to prevent him from challenging Lukashenko in last year's election.

3. Babariko, a former head of Belgazprobank, was arrested last June as he was trying to register as a candidate to run against Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential vote critic. The observers say Mr. Alexander rigged the Belarus vote.

4. Raid on the bank resulted in an investigation, barred him from running in the election and detained last June.

5. All the people who raised their voices against the Lukashenko government were either put in jail or they were forced to live in exile.

6. Mr. Lukashenko, in power since 1994, suppress massively on his opponents. Huge street protestors, after the disrupted 9 August vote, were broken up by police brutally and thousands were detained.

7. Belarus forced the diversion of a plane flying from Greece to Lithuania in May prompting the EU to tighten sanctions on Belarus.