The trial of two leading Belarusian opposition figures has begun behind closed doors at a court in Minsk.
Protest organiser Maria Kolesnikova and opposition lawyer Maxim Znak were charged last September for incitement to undermine national security.
BBC: Belarus protests – Trial of opposition figures begins
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)
