Activist who ran for Belarusian presidency pleads guilty

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — An opposition politician who ran against authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the controversial 2020 presidential election has pleaded guilty at the start of his trial on charges of public order breaches. Andrey Dzmitryeu, 41, was detained Jan. 11 and charged with “organizing and preparing actions grossly violating public order.” The activist, who heads the Tell the Truth movement, faces up to four years in prison. According to the Viasna human rights center, Dzmitryeu admitted participating in opposition rallies three times and blocking the streets in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. At the hearing Wednesday at Minsk’s Moscow Court, Dzmitryeu was held in an iron cage-like enclosure and looked noticeably tired and thin.