Belarus’ authoritarian leader visits his foes in prison

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian president has visited a prison to talk to opposition activists, who have been jailed for protesting his re-election they saw as rigged.

President Alexander Lukashenko spent more than four hours talking to his jailed political foes at the Minsk prison that belongs to Belarus’ State Security Committee, which still goes under its Soviet-era name, KGB. Lukashenko’s office said “the goal of the president was to hear everyone’s opinion.”

Lukashenko’s landslide re-election in the Aug. 9 vote was widely seen as manipulated amid widespread public frustration with the leader’s 26-year authoritarian rule, his cavalier response to the coronavirus pandemic and the deteriorating economy.

The prison visit appeared to be part of Lukashenko’s efforts to stem the protests.