The Belarusian Republican Bar Association (BRBA) elected new leadership at a council meeting on February 13.
Vitali Dzemidovich was elected as the new chair of the BRBA council, while Volha Karalevich became his deputy.
Demidovich has 24 years of experience as a lawyer. In 2022, he was elected deputy chair of the Minsk City Bar Association, in 2023 he became chair of the Minsk Regional Bar Association, and since 2024 he had served as deputy chair of the BRBA.
From 2022 to 2026, the BRBA was headed by Aliaksei Shvakau.
“These four years were bright and interesting for me, they made it possible to implement plans both in training lawyers and supporting our youth, in international cooperation, and to continue interaction with public organisations and state bodies… But new tasks lie ahead of all of us, life does not stand still. And today, remaining in the profession in a different capacity, I am still committed to our community and hope to be useful to it, continuing to work for the benefit of the legal profession,” Shvakov said.
In 2020, systematic persecution of lawyers began in Belarus. Lawyers defending defendants in politically motivated cases were stripped of their licences. According to the initiative “Right to Defence,” 146 Belarusian lawyers have been disbarred, and six are currently in detention.