You're reading: Euronews: ‘Freedom is worth fighting for’ – prominent Belarus dissidents on trial

Euronews: ‘Freedom is worth fighting for’ – prominent Belarus dissidents on trial

By Euronews.

Published Aug. 5, 2021 at 9:45 am

Maria Kolesnikova, the last remaining protest leader still in Belarus, smiles inside the defendants' cage at the opening of her trial on charges of undermining national security, conspiring to seize power and creating an extremist group, in Minsk on August 4, 2021. - Kolesnikova, a 39-year-old former flute player in the country's philharmonic orchestra and the only protest leader still in Belarus, has become a symbol of the protest movement in Belarus where Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has been cracking down on opponents since unprecedented protests erupted after last year's elections, deemed unfair by the West. (Photo by Ramil NASIBULIN / BELTA / AFP)

Photo by AFP

The trial of Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak, both leading members of the Belarusian opposition, continued on Thursday behind closed doors at the Minsk Regional Court.

The trial, which started on Aug. 4, takes place amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent in the ex-Soviet nation that was rocked by months of protests over a disputed presidential election.