Reports focus on how the justice system is being used by the authorities in four attacks - on journalists, protesters and those perceived to be involved in protests, lawyers and senior opposition leaders. Both are in danger of being detained and imprisoned on political charges in Belarus, led by President Lukashenko. As court chambers continue to close in public, the report provides a rare window into the humiliation of the justice system.
The defendants in these cases represent key parts of civil society and were prosecuted in some instances for simply:
Posting information online about a women’s march; calling protesters “brave” in a news report;
“Resisting arrest” by yelling ‘help’ when grabbed off the street by masked men who did not identify themselves as police and forced into an unmarked car;
The protests have become increasingly costly for the lives of people and their property, especially women and children, and in the country there is no freedom of speech or criticism of the government.
In one case, an opposition politician was arrested while on his way to file paperwork to run in the 2020 presidential election. He was subsequently given a 14-year prison sentence;
Meanwhile, lawyers for defendants in two of the cases have been disciplined in connection with their representation;
A defendant in one of the cases – a human rights lawyer – was disbarred on the basis of her unjust conviction.
The country has been subjected to several sanctions by international organizations as well as the United States and the European Union, in particular for the country's act of opening its borders and allowing refugees to cross the country and go to Europe.
0 Comments