Tsikhanouskaya talks about threats she received before her deportation to Lithuania

In an interview with BuzzFeed, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about threats she had received in the office of Central Election Commission (CEC) chair Lidziya Yarmoshyna before her forced departure from Belarus on 10 August 2020. Previously, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya refused to disclose the details of her forced emigration.

According to Tsikhanouskaya, she was told that she would go to prison for 15 years, just like her husband Siarhei. In addition, she was threatened that her children would be taken away and was told “in gruesome details how women are treated in prison”.

On 10 August 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, accompanied by lawyer Maksim Znak, submitted a complaint regarding the official election results to the CEC. She was unable to leave the office of Lidziya Yarmoshyna where high-ranking security officials talked to her for several hours.

Maksim Znak was arrested on 9 September. The trial in the criminal case against Maksim Znak and Maria Kalesnikava is scheduled to start on 4 August.