Belarusian activist Hanna Auchynnikava told the Vyasna rights group on September 13 that she fled Belarus without travel documents after being charged with facilitating extremist activities because she sent parcels to political prisoners Zmitser Dashkevich and Svyatoslav Udod.
Auchynnikava was detained on January 23, after which police searched her home and confiscated personal items, including her passport.
She then spent three days in custody. Investigators told her that, because she sent parcels to people convicted on extremism charges, she may be convicted on similar charges as well.
On January 26, Auchynnikava was released and police returned her belongings, except for her passport. She was ordered to remain in Minsk as investigations continued.
In mid-March, Auchynnikava's family members left Belarus and shortly after that she managed to leave the country despite having no passport.
She did not say how she managed to get out of the country, or where she is now located other than to say she is in a European Union member along with her family and is trying to obtain legal status to reside there.
Meanwhile, on September 13, a court in the southeastern city of Mazyr started the trial of activist Paval Kebets on a charge of publicly insulting authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
A day earlier, a court in the western Brest district handed sentences to 11 local residents over their participation in mass rallies in 2020 protesting against the official results of a presidential election that declared Lukashenka had won amid opposition claims the balloting was rigged.
The activists were found guilty of taking part in activities that blatantly disrupted social order and received sentences ranging between suspended two-year terms and 18 months in prison.
Thousands were detained during nationwide protests and there were credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people died during the crackdown.
Many of Belarus's opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country, while Lukashenka has refused to negotiate with the opposition.
The United States, the EU, and several other countries have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote and imposed several rounds of sanctions on him and his regime, citing election fraud and the police crackdown.
