Russian Court Rejects Belarusian Activist's Asylum Appeal Paving Way To Extradition.

Belarusian activist Yana Pinchuk with her husband. (file photo)

A court in Russia has rejected an appeal filed by Belarusian activist Yana Pinchuk against Moscow's refusal to grant her political asylum, paving the way for her extradition home where she faces charges for protesting the disputed August 2020 election that kept authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka in power.

The Belarusian human rights group Vitsebskaya Vyasna said that, as a result of the May 26 decision by the Smolny district court in St. Petersburg, Pinchuk will very likely be extradited to Belarus with a hearing on the issue scheduled for June 1.
Police in St. Petersburg arrested Pinchuk on November 1 at the request of Belarus. Pinchuk is wanted in Belarus on several charges, including inciting national hatred, calls for activities that damaged national security, and slander. Belarusian authorities accuse Pinchuk of administering the Vitsebsk97% Telegram channel, which had been critical of Lukashenka's regime and has been labeled as extremist in Belarus. Pinchuk rejects all the charges and says she immediately closed her Telegram channel after it was officially labeled as extremist. In December, the Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Pinchuk as a political prisoner and demanded her immediate release. Pinchuk is one of many Belarusians who have faced multiple charges linked to the mass protests against Lukashenka following the controversial presidential election. Thousands have been arrested and much of the opposition leadership has been jailed or forced into exile. Several protesters have been killed and there have also been credible reports of torture during a widening security crackdown. Belarusian authorities have also shut down several nongovernmental organizations and independent media outlets. The United States, the European Union, 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 crackdown.