An opposition leader, who ran against Belarus' authoritarian leader last year, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, has been sentenced to 18 years in jail. Activist politician, Sergei Tikhanovsky, was handed down his sentence on Tuesday.

The 43-year-old politician, who ran a popular YouTube channel in Belarus before running for president, was found guilty of organizing mass unrest and inciting social hatred. Before he could run in last year's elections, Tikhanovsky was arrested, leaving his wife, Svetlana, to run the popular movement against Lukashenko.

The regional court in Tikhanovsky's hometown of Gomel issued its judgment on Tuesday after months of private hearings. Tikhanovsky was on trial with five other suspects, including Nikolai Statkevich, a presidential candidate who competed against Mr. Lukashenko in 2010.

In July, another presidential candidate, Viktor Babariko, was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 14 years in jail by a Belarusian court. Babariko, the former head of a Russian state-owned bank, dominated surveys but was imprisoned only weeks before the election.

In a video statement released hours before Tikhanovsky was sentenced, his wife said that she would continue to fight for her husband, who has since become the "leader for millions of Belarusians."  

The European Union slammed the decision and accused Belarus of continuing its blatant abuses of human rights and basic freedoms. The EU said it would be exploring placing more sanctions on Belarus in addition to those currently in place.

"These sentences are yet more examples of unfounded charges against Belarusian citizens who have exercised their right of expression and called for free and fair elections," the EU's External Action Service said in a statement.

Since Lukashenko's re-election for a sixth term as president in August 2020, which was largely considered rigged, huge protests have erupted throughout the country. The Belarusian leader has since unleashed a campaign of political persecution unprecedented in Europe for decades.

Thousands of individuals have been imprisoned, including opposition leaders and protesters, who are being considered as political prisoners by human rights organizations.

Lukashenko, who is considered to be "Europe's last dictator," has served as the country's leader since taking office in 1994. Similar to other authoritarian states, Lukashenko has stifled dissent and oppositions through the courts. Apart from suppressing any opposition, Lukashenko has also been campaigning to destabilize his country's neighbors.

In May, Belarus scrambled jets to intercept a commercial flight carrying an opposition activist, forcing the plane to land in Minsk. Lukashenko had also been criticized for orchestrating an ongoing international crisis after he invited migrants from the Middle East to cross through Belarus to get to Europe.