Павел Латушко. Фото: t.me/CabinetBelarus
At a meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet Paval Latushka proposed an amendment to the PACE resolution “Countering Transnational Repression.”
The amendment supplements the resolution’s provision on holding those responsible for transnational repression accountable by specifying that prosecution should also be pursued through relevant international criminal justice mechanisms.
Commenting on the adoption of the amendment, Latushka said that the Lukashenka regime’s transnational repression is carried out on a scale and through practices that correspond to the definition of crimes against humanity and are unprecedented in Europe. He recalled that on March 12, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced the opening of an investigation into the “Belarus situation” concerning deportation and persecution through deportation.
“These actions include the termination of passport issuance abroad, direct threats to the lives and health of those being persecuted, threats against their close relatives, arrests and confiscation of property. The use of judicial harassment through mass politically motivated criminal cases for exercising political will outside Belarus, trials in absentia and the denial of the right to an effective defence during such proceedings are also elements of transnational repression,” Latushka stressed.
According to him, all of these constitute acts amounting to the crime against humanity of persecution through deportation, making it impossible for tens of thousands of Belarusians to return home.
The politician said it was appropriate to emphasize the potential of international criminal justice mechanisms in countering transnational repression.
Earlier, during PACE’s winter session, Paval Latushka addressed a special event on the scale of the transnational crimes committed by the Lukashenka regime against Belarusians. The materials submitted to the rapporteur were taken into account during the preparation of the resolution.