The move comes ahead of next year’s presidential elections, tentatively scheduled for February.

Twenty-two people have been accused of conspiring to seize power. All of them signed a document in August in Vilnius, Lithuania, outlining the Belarusian opposition’s goals in the forthcoming electoral campaign.

Among other things, these included intensifying efforts to free political prisoners. However, these people now find themselves identified as having “joined the activities of [opposition leader] Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters to seize state power in Belarus in an unconstitutional way.”

A further 23 people who participated in opposition gatherings in different countries were also identified and now stand accused of belonging to “extremist formations” seeking to derail the Belarusian elections.

The 2020 reelection of strongman president Aleksandr Lukashenko sparked huge protests in Belarus amid allegations of widespread fraud. Lukashenko has already confirmed he will seek re-election in 2025.

According to the independent Belarusian news service Nasha Niva, mass arrests are likely to precede the election to prevent protests. According to Nasha Niva sources, lists of people targeted for “preventive” searches and arrest have already been drawn up by the authorities.