Babaryka’s son to go on trial May 22

May 10, BPN. Eduard Babaryka, the son of former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka, will go on trial in Minsk on May 22, the Viasna Human Rights Center reports.

Vikrar Babaryka announced that he was running for president in the spring of 2020. His campaign staff had some 10,000 members, and analysts described him as Alaksandr Łukašenka’s chief rival.

Eduard Babaryka ran the crowdfunding platforms Ulej and MolaMola, and was one of the campaign’s leaders.

State Control Committee officers arrested both weeks before the August 2020 presidential election.

The Supreme Court sentenced Viktar Babaryka to 14 years in prison in July 2021, finding him guilty of large-scale fraud and legalization of funds derived from criminal activity. The ex-banker pleaded not guilty.

Last month, a worker rights group reported the father’s hospitalization with signs of beating and a collapsed lung. His team said that his whereabouts are unknown.

Eduard Babaryka is being held in pre-trial detention. He can face up to 20 years in prison, human rights activists say.