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The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus has published a new report describing the involvement of Belarusian state bodies in human rights violations within the criminal justice system. The report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council ahead of its 63rd session.
“Belarusian authorities are using the country’s criminal justice system as an instrument of repression, systematically targeting and persecuting individuals deemed to oppose the Government,” the experts concluded.
It emphasizes that law enforcement agencies, security services, the prosecutor’s office and the judicial system have acted together since May 1, 2020, suppressing fundamental rights and freedoms.
“What emerges is not a picture of isolated violations, but of a system in which State institutions have systematically been used to suppress dissent and fundamental freedoms. Criminal justice processes are an integral part of a broader machinery of repression. Their impacts are felt not only by those arrested, prosecuted or imprisoned, but by an entire society being warned about the price of dissent,” said Karinna Moskalenko, Chair of the Group of Independent Experts.
The report says that detentions are often arbitrary and brutal. They are carried out by the police, the KGB and the GUBOPiK department of the Interior Ministry. Detentions take place without warrants, detainees are subjected to beatings and torture, denied access to lawyers and forced to record humiliating videos expressing “remorse” under pressure and threats against their families.
The document also highlights unsanitary detention conditions at the Akrestsina temporary detention center and cases of abuse.
The group of experts also emphasizes that lawyers are stripped of their licenses or detained, motions are usually rejected, and hearings are often held behind closed doors, while defendants are kept in metal cages in the courtroom. Appeals courts almost universally uphold convictions, while courts are increasingly trying cases in absentia against people who criticize the government or have been declared critics of the government and live abroad, without proper notification or defense.
“Releases are important for those who regain their freedom, but they cannot be mistaken for an end to repression. The underlying system that enabled these violations remains in place, and accountability is still urgently needed,” expert Monika Płatek added.
The report calls for the release of all people detained on politically motivated charges, respect for and protection of the human rights of all people in Belarus, prompt and effective investigation of allegations of human rights violations and the prosecution of those responsible, as well as full compensation for victims.