Belarusian human rights organizations have called for the convictions of 20 former political prisoners to be reviewed and overturned and for the convicted individuals to be fully rehabilitated. The joint statement was published today, Aug. 14, on the website of the Viasna Human Rights Center.
The human rights defenders say the people listed were deprived of their liberty for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. The cases involve persecution related, among other things, to protests following the 2020 presidential election, the dissemination of information and anti-war statements.
The authors describe the persecution of Heorhii Belavucau, Yuryi Bernat, Ivan Burlik, Viktar Viarbitski, Yauhen Homelski, Aliaksandr Dzmitruk, Uladzimir Kandratsiuk, Aleh Kaspiarovich, Mikalai Kisialiou, Ivan Krautsou, Mikita Lomski, Yury Miadzviedzik, Aliaksandr Papovich, Tatsiana Sukhavei, Siarhei Sukhavarau, Katsiaryna Suslava, Anhelina Tamkovich, Ihar Famenok, Ihar Foheleu and Heorhii Chaushnik as politically motivated.
The human rights defenders stress that a person’s release from custody or after serving a sentence does not by itself eliminate the consequences caused by politically motivated persecution. They call on the Belarusian authorities to review the legality of the detention and imprisonment of the people named, overturn the convictions handed down against them, carry out full rehabilitation and compensate them for the harm caused. The authors also call for an end to political repression in Belarus.
