Opposition Leader Who Fought Expulsion Faces Belarus Trial
- Maria Kalesnikava risks up to 12 years in jail in closed court
- Lukashenko steps up repression as election anniversary nears
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An opposition leader who ripped up her passport to stop officials expelling her from Belarus went on trial Wednesday as President Alexander Lukashenko steps up his campaign to crush dissent ahead of the first anniversary of disputed elections.
Maria Kalesnikava, a flute player who became one of the public faces of the effort to defeat Lukashenko at last year’s Aug. 9 elections, smiled, danced and made her trademark heart-shape symbol with her hands to reporters from state media as she and Maksim Znak, a lawyer and fellow opposition activist, stood in the defendants’ cage.