An exiled Belarus opposition figure is sentenced in absentia to 20 years

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced a top opposition figure living in exile to 20 years in absentia. The court in the capital of Minsk passed the sentence late on Thursday for Franak Viachorka, an advisor to opposition leader Svitalana Tsikhanouskaya. He was convicted on charges including treason and insulting the president. Viachorka lives in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where many opposition figures — including Tsikhanouskaya — fled after the disputed 2020 presidential election in which she ran against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. He has led Belarus since 1994 and was declared the winner of the election. However, the result was widely regarded as falsified, setting off months of unprecedented protests.