Cardinal Conversation: A Virginia Tech student who can't go home

RADIO IQ | By Fred Echols

Published July 1, 2024 at 4:07 AM EDT

Katsiaryna Shmatsina, who goes by Kate, is a lawyer and political analyst from Belarus working toward a doctorate at Virginia Tech.

She's being tried in absentia in her homeland, accused of plotting to overthrow the government. The charges stem from policy papers critical of the government that she wrote in Belarus.

Fred Echols talked with Dwayne Yancey who has written about her situation for Cardinal News.

Cardinal News is a non-profit, independent, online news organization covering Southwest and Southside Virginia.