A Belarusian court sentenced Nasta Loika, the founder of the human rights organization Human Constanta, to seven years in a penal colony on Tuesday.
The court found Loika guilty of “inciting social hatred.” Viasna, a Belarusian human rights organization, reports that the prosecution in the case alleges that Loika gave a “negative assessment” of illegal police actions in a human rights report, which incited violence against the police. The trial was closed to media and had only limited public viewing space available.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor condemned the sentencing, saying, “This appalling verdict is a new step in Belarus’ crackdown on civil society & HRDs [human rights defenders].”
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a prominent exiled Belarusian opposition party leader who was tried in absentia, praised Loika for her dedication to the people of Belarus, saying, “She represented the interests of Belarusians who suffered from discrimination, violence or persecution, and spoke loudly about the problems that the regime likes to ignore. Nasta was the voice of those who were not heard, and hope for those who needed help.”
Loika has been held under “administrative detention” since October 2022. Viasna alleges that Loika was hit with a taser during her detention and left out in freezing temperatures without proper clothing. Some of these claims have been corroborated by witnesses including Russian journalist Yekaterina Yanshina, who was detained in the same prison. Yanshina said:
As I was told later, the woman, who simply forgot her password, was tortured with electric shocks. They were firing a stun gun at her heel to avoid leaving marks. It was the human rights activist Anastasiya Loika. I was told this story after I refused to give my passwords. And then I wondered how many zaps I would take before breaking up and giving them the passwords.
This is not Loika’s first time in detention, having been previously accused of “petty hooliganism.” Belarusian authorities have allegedly subject her to torture and ill-treatment repeatedly throughout her various detentions.
Viasna has reported that Loika is planning to appeal her conviction and sentencing.
The international community has repeatedly condemned Belarus for its arbitrary detention of political dissidents, human rights defenders and journalists. The UN has repeatedly condemned Belarus’ treatment and arbitrary detention of political prisoners. In March, a Belarusian court sentenced journalist Gennady Mozheyk to three years in prison for allegedly insulting Belarusian authorities. In 2020, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to ten years in prison for allegedly helping to fund anti-government protests. And JURIST correspondent Ulyana Belaya shared her account of the detention of an anonymous Belarusian university student, who alleged she experienced poor treatment including lack of medicine, improper nutrition, humiliation and abusive guards.
According to JURIST correspondents in Belarus, there are currently over 1,440 political prisoners in the country.
