Belarus using justice system to silence Lukashenko critics, say UN experts
The experts said arbitrary arrests, torture and closed trials have continued since May 2020, with abuses possibly amounting to crimes against humanity.
- On Tuesday, U.N. experts said Belarusian state institutions have coordinated repression of critics since 2020 through arrests, imprisonment and surveillance, with courts, police, security services and prosecutors acting together to silence opponents.
- Six years after the disputed August 2020 election sparked mass protests, thousands were detained in the crackdown while President Alexander Lukashenko denies holding political prisoners, describing them as "bandits."
- Experts documented "systematic" violations spanning arrest through post-release supervision, including arbitrary arrests, torture, closed trials and harassment of former detainees, with the judiciary legitimising abuses and denying victims remedies.
- Belarus violated multiple international treaties with abuses potentially amounting to crimes against humanity, experts determined, while Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski told Reuters earlier this month that "the machinery of repression keeps running."
- The report will be presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council this week, though the Belarus mission did not immediately respond to comment requests, maintaining its pattern of rejecting international scrutiny.
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4 Articles
Belarus using justice system to silence Lukashenko critics, say UN experts
Belarusian state institutions have worked together to repress critics of President Alexander Lukashenko's government through every stage of the justice system since 2020, including arrests, imprisonment and surveillance, U.N. experts said on Tuesday.
Repression Machinery: Belarus's Systematic Silencing of Dissent
A U.N. report reveals systematic repression of dissent in Belarus since 2020, involving arrests, imprisonment, and surveillance of critics of President Lukashenko. The report highlights violations of international human rights through coordinated actions by state institutions and describes the situation as crimes against humanity akin to persecution and imprisonment.
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