Who's Patrytsia Svitsina? Belarusian singer on trial for refusing Lukashenko's scholarship

A Belarusian singer named Patrytsia Svitsina, who refused to accept a scholarship from authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020 over "moral principles," is facing criminal offense charges for "actively participating in actions that blatantly disrupt social order." According to the Minsk-based Vyasna human rights centre, Svitsina was placed in a detention centre by the Belarusian authorities on June 16. If convicted by the court, she faces up to four years of imprisonment. 

The singer was aired on multiple pro-government Telegram channels "confessing" that she participated in the anti-government protests against the election results in Belarus in August 2020 that sealed victory for the self-proclaimed strongman Alexander Lukashenko. She was allegedly involved in the demonstrations that were marred with violence, and clashes with the police, and participated in the blocking of public transportation operations. She is also accused of publishing "negative information" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine on her social media accounts. 

Singer rejected Lukashenko's scholarship

In 2020, Svitsina was a student at the ethnology and folklore department at Belarusian State University in Minsk, and she publicly rejected Lukashenka's scholarship citing her "moral" standing. She slammed his government for the crackdown on the democratic dissidents during the nationwide protests that compromised the country's law and order and witnessed a large turnout supporting the country's opposition leader on the streets. 

According to the Minsk-based Vyasna human rights centre, on June 16, the Minsk City Court also sentenced a former employee of the capital's Kastrychnik district administration, Svyatlana Bychkouskya in late May to 5 1/2 years of jail time on charges of inciting hatred, illegal usage of computer data, illegal usage of personal data, and abuse of office. In January this year, another popular Belarusian singer Mieryjem Hierasimienka was sentenced to three years of 'restricted freedom' for singing a Ukrainian song in a bar in Belarus's capital Minsk during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Belarus' exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya slammed the ruling against the Belarusian singer popularly known as Meryem Hera for stifling freedom of expression. 28-year-old Hierasimienka sang the song titled “Obiymy”, meaning “Hug” composed by a popular Ukrainian group Okean Elzy at a famous Minsk bar in August 2022, and she was detained by the Belarusian police immediately after it. The singer was initially sentenced to 15 days in jail before a criminal case was lodged against her. The Belarusian authorities accused her of “actively participating in group actions that grossly violate public order."