Aliaksandra Herasimenia, a 2012 and 2016 Olympic medalist in swimming, was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in Belarus for “creating an extremist formation.”
An Olympic medalist, Aliaksandra Herasimenia, was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in Belarus for “creation of an extremist formation“, announced on Monday the defense organization Viasna.
Herasimenia, 36, silver and bronze medalist at the Olympic Games (2012, 2016), was found guilty by a court in Minsk, according to a press release published on the Viasna website, which specified that the trial began on 19 December.
According to the NGO, the former swimmer, who retired from sport in 2019 and lives in exile, had also been found guilty of “calls for sanctions against Belarusand “spreading false information about events” in the country in 2020.
That year, during an unprecedented protest movement against the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, Ms. Herasimenia had signed an open letter, alongside other Belarusian athletes, calling for “free elections“.
In the process, she created the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), an organization that provides financial and legal assistance to Belarusian athletes targeted by the authorities. This is recognized by the Belarusian authorities as “extremist training“.
In April 2021, she auctioned off her gold medal won at the 2012 World Championships for 13,500 euros to raise funds in support of opposition athletes.
In addition, a trade union representative, Alexander Yarochouk, was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison for having “serious breach of public orderin 2020, Viasna announced in a separate statement.
For more than two years, the Belarusian authorities have been carrying out tireless repression. Almost all opposition figures have been imprisoned or driven into exile.
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