A opposition politician in ex-Soviet Belarus went on trial Wednesday on charges of joining "mass unrest," in a continuing crackdown on dissent following demonstrations after presidential elections last August. Historic protests swept the country over several months after Alexander Lukashenko, 66, claimed a landslide victory in the vote that opposition and European leaders said was rigged. Pavel Severinets, who co-chairs the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democracy party, was arrested in June last year during a picket. The hearing on Wednesday was held behind closed doors at a regional court in the city of Mogilev. Visitors were only allowed access to the entrance hall of the court building, which was surrounded by police. "This is nothing more than a mockery and injustice," Severinets's wife Olga told AFP, adding that she had hoped to see her husband for "at least one minute" at the hearing. "Pavel writes in his letters that he hasn't given any evidence during the investigation and will remain silent at the trial," she added prior to the hearing. Severinets faces up to eight years in jail. He has previously served time in prison for his political activism. Severinets was among several opposition figures who were arrested or fled the country ahead of last year's election. He has been in detention for the past 11 months and did not take part in the mass demonstrations that brought thousands to the streets in cities across Belarus. Lukashenko's main opponent in the elections was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya -- the wife of another imprisoned opposition figure -- who took her husband's place in the polls and quickly gained popularity. She fled to neighbouring EU member Lithuania soon after the vote and has received the backing of several Western leaders. The protests that left at least four dead have by now mostly run out of steam and several journalists and activists were slapped with prison terms in the aftermath. tk-acl/jbr/tgb