/nginx/o/2021/05/13/13779456t1h3457.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
After the elections, Belarus was taken over by mass protests, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets outraged by the falsification of results.
–
Sancuk, 30, was arrested in Minsk in November along with other members of the percussion group, who often took part in the protests.
–
They were sentenced to 15 days in custody for participating in unauthorized protests, but Sanchuk was detained thereafter and charged with several criminal charges.
–
A court in Minsk today found him guilty of organizing protests and participating in protests, and sentenced him to six years in prison, reports the human rights organization Vyasna (Spring).
–
Sanchuk was accused of blocking traffic, housing the Belarusian national flag, which has become a symbol of the protest movement, and urging protesters to applaud.
–
Vyasna reported that the musician was beaten after being arrested and forced to confess to a video that was broadcast on Belarusian television.
–
Authorities brutally suppressed protests after the election, and they gradually waned by winter.
–
Tens of thousands of people were detained during the protests. Hundreds of protesters were injured, but several were also killed.
–
Although protests have subsided, journalists and activists continue to be tried in Belarus, with severe prison sentences.
— .
