MINSK, October 16. /TASS/. An interstate arrest warrant has been issued against former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya over her calls to actions, aimed at harming Belarusian national security, the Investigative Committee of the republic said in a statement Friday.
"An interstate arrest warrant has been issued against Svetlana Tikhanovskaya over her calls to actions, aimed at harming Belarusian national security, conducted via mass media or the Internet global computer network," the statement reads.
The statement also runs that the Committee’s Main Investigative Directorate continues the investigation, initiated over Clause 361 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (public calls for seizure of state power, forced change of the constitutional order, treason, terror attack or sabotage, or other actions, aimed at harming the national security of the republic, conducted via mass media or the Internet global computer network).
"The investigation obtained evidence that certain people with membership in the organization called ‘Coordination Council’ conducted actions, aimed at destabilization of the social, political, economic and informational situation in the country, and harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus," the Committee said.
The establishment of the Coordination Council was initiated by former presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya.
Prosecution of the Belarusian opposition figurehead in Russia
Previously, the law enforcement disclosed that no criminal cases had been initiated against Tikhanovskaya in Russia, explaining that Tikhanovskaya had been included in Russian arrest warrant database due to a bilateral agreement between Russia and Belarus. While it was Belarus who issued the arrest warrant, it is also valid in Russia, because of its interstate nature.
Nationwide demonstrations have engulfed Belarus following the August 9 presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission’s official results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, came in second, with 10.12% of the ballot. However, she refused to recognize the election’s outcome, and left Belarus for Lithuania. After the results of the exit polls were announced late on August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities. During the early post-election period, the rallies snowballed into fierce clashes between the protesters and police. The current unrest is being cheered on by the opposition’s Coordination Council, which has been beating the drum for more protests. In response, the Belarusian authorities have castigated the ongoing turmoil and demanded that these unauthorized demonstrations be stopped.
On August 19, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus initiated a criminal case over the establishment of the Council, charging it with public calls to seizure of power or infliction of damage to the national security.