Belarus jails son of Lukashenko rival for 8 years

A court in Belarus has sentenced the son of a jailed former presidential contender to eight years in prison, supporters and state media said on Wednesday.

Eduard Babariko was found guilty of tax evasion and "complicity in inciting social discord and hostilities" in a trial that began in May, nearly three years after he was arrested. He had pleaded not guilty.

Babariko was detained in June 2020 alongside his father Viktor, a prominent banker and philanthropist.

At the time, the father was considered the main election rival of Alexander Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994. The younger man had headed his father’s election headquarters.

Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in a presidential election two months later, sparking the biggest protests in Belarus’ modern history. He rejected claims of electoral fraud.

The elder Babariko was sentenced in 2021 to 14 years in prison on corruption charges he denied, sparking condemnation from the West and the Belarus opposition whose leading figures are all now in exile or in jail.