Olympic swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being accused of "creating an extremist formation" to oppose the President of Belarus.
Herasimenia, 36, was also found guilty of "calling for sanctions against Belarus" and "spreading false information about the events", relating to political protests in 2020. Despite living in Lithuania since 2019, she was trialled due to new laws signed that allow trial in absentia.
Herasimenia won two silver medals in the London 2012 Olympics, and bronze in Rio four years later. She also won gold medals in the World and European Championships.
But she has been a vociferous critic of Alexander Lukashenko, who has held power as head of state since 1994. In 2020, after he took more than 81% of the vote in the Presidential election, there were protests in the country over the lack of apparent democracy.
Herasimenia was among a number of high-profile athletes to sign an open letter calling for free elections. Political opponents, including second-highest candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, were detained during campaigning.
The ex-swimmer then formed the Belarus Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), providing financial and legal aid to sportspeople from the country who are targeted by the authorities. She even auctioned off her gold medal from the 2012 World Championships to help fund the organisation.
According to insidethegames, Herasimenia's apartment and car have been seized, as well as £40,000 from her bank account. Alexander Opeikin, who co-founded the BSSF with her, received the same sentence.
The organisation was already instigated the cancellation of international events in the country, including the European Track Championships. And Belarus' involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought further sporting sanctions.
Individuals are currently banned from representing Belarus under the country's flag. National teams are also barred from competing internationally, and earlier this year both teams (Russian and Belarus) were sent home from the 2022 Winter Paralympics on the eve of the tournament.
