Freedom of Association
UN Report: The campaign of violence and repression against critical voices in Belarus must be stopped
A new UN report published on 17th March 2023 documents violations of freedom of association, assembly and expression committed in Belarus between May 2020 and December 2022. The report is based on the testimonies of more than 200 Belarusian citizens who were subjected to physical and psychological violence by the authorities, as well as more than 2,500 pieces of evidence, including photographic and video evidence and medical records.
According to the report commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, acts of violence were ordered by high-level state leadership against those who expressed critical opinions, participated in protests and challenged the results of the August 2020 elections. The report documents “widespread and systematic violations of international human rights law,” including unlawful killings and arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, and sexual and gender-based violence and denial of due process.
The report details the measures taken by the authorities over the past two and a half years to restrict civil society space, including the introduction of restrictive laws, the forced liquidation of NGOs and arrests of civil society representatives, the blocking of websites of independent publications, and the expansion of the list of organisations and individuals classified as “extremist.”
“Our report paints an unacceptable picture of impunity and the near-total destruction of civic space and fundamental freedoms in Belarus” - Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
In a press release on the report’s findings, the UN Human Rights Council called on the Belarusian authorities to end the repression of civil society and critical voices and to release detained human rights defenders. The report aims to raise awareness of the ongoing human rights violations by the Belarusian regime and to mobilise resources available at the international level to hold those who legitimise human rights abuses in the country accountable.
Opposition politicians and analysts convicted of “conspiring to seize power”
On 6th March, a Minsk court sentenced Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Pavel Latushka and four others to prison terms ranging from 12 to 18 years after a trial in absentia. The trial was marked by gross violations of universally recognised rights, in particular the right to legal counsel. In the presidential elections in August 2020, Tsikhanouskaya ran against incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. While the official vote count showed a landslide victory for Lukashenko, protesters gathered in large numbers to challenge the result. As reported by the CIVICUS Monitor, a brutal crackdown ensued, with tens of thousands arrested. In January 2023, the authorities opened a trial in absentia against Tsikhanouskaya, the de facto leader of the opposition, accusing her and her co-accused of trying to seize power in an unconstitutional manner.
On 27th March, Valeryia Kastsiuhova and Tatsiana Kouzina were each sentenced by the Minsk City Court to 10 years in prison. They were found guilty of “conspiring to seize power,” “inciting hatred” and “calling for action against national security.” Kastsiuhova is a political analyst and editor of the independent analysis and opinion website Nashe Mneniye (Our Opinion). Kouzina is a fellow political scientist and policy expert, having founded the School of Young Managers of Public Administration (SYMPA), and the research centre BIPART.
In another trial in absentia, on 7th April, Valery Tsapkalo, an opposition politician who had also run in the 2020 presidential elections, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “forming an extremist group” and denigrating Belarus. Already in October 2022, the Ministry of the Interior had blacklisted Tsapkalo as an “extremist” and the photos of the politician were designated as containing “extremist content.”
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
Belarus continues to convict peaceful protesters
According to the Viasna Centre, from January to March 2023, several people were convicted for their participation in the protests following the disputed August 2020 elections. The cases are as follows:
- On 26 January, Natallia Halavashchanka, a mother of two minor children, was sentenced to two and a half years of restricted freedom and house arrest under Part 1 of Article 342 of the Criminal Code for “participation in acts grossly violating public order”. According to the Viasna Centre, the charge was based on the fact that she had allegedly blocked traffic by walking in the street and carrying a white flag with a red stripe down the middle, which is generally considered a symbol of nationalist opposition to President Lukashenko.
- On 3 March, lawyer Mikhail Makarau was sentenced to one year in prison for his participation in the 2020 protests. He was convicted on the same charges as Halavashchanka. Before his trial, he spent 15 days in administrative detention for “spreading extremist content” before being remanded in custody and disbarred.
- Aleh Shvaiko, a children's football coach, was also found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in the 2020 protests, under the same charges as above.
Freedom of Expression
European Parliament resolution highlights the cases of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski
On 8th February 2023, journalist and Polish minority activist Andrzej Poczobut was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment in a penal colony with increased security for “incitement to national or religious enmity or hatred” and “rehabilitation of Nazism.” In the indictment against the journalist, it was pointed out that Poczobut had described the USSR's attack on Poland in 1939 as aggression in the media. He was also charged with statements in defence of the Polish minority in Belarus, articles for the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza about the Belarusian protests in 2020, and a 2006 article about a Polish commander of the anti-communist Home Army. It is also known that Poczobut refused to write a petition for clemency to President Alexander Lukashenko in the autumn of 2021.
On 3rd March 2023, a Minsk court found four human rights defenders from CSO Viasna Centre guilty of smuggling and financing "actions grossly violating public order,” handing down sentences ranging from seven to ten years in prison. The court also fined the defendants between 111,000 to 185,000 Belarusian rubles (around USD 41,300–69,000) each, while another 752,438 rubles (almost USD 297,650) were ordered to be collected from them in addition to the fines. Among those sentenced was Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the Centre and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 15th March 2023 condemning the ongoing repression in Belarus, with particular attention to the Poczobut and Bialiatski cases. The resolution lists the most serious violations of international human rights conventions by the Belarusian leadership. It also draws attention to the cases of the two political dissidents and other detainees, as well as the measures taken to silence independent voices in the country. In the document, MEPs call on the EU and its Member States to extend and strengthen EU sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for systematic human rights violations in Belarus, and to work with international partners, human rights defenders and civil society on the ground to monitor and document such cases and ensure accountability and justice for victims.
According to the Viasna Centre, as of the end of March 2023, there were 1,474 political prisoners held in penitentiaries across Belarus.
Multiple convictions for defaming public officials
Belarusian authorities continue to prosecute individuals under criminal defamation provisions including for insulting the President or other government officials. The defendants in these cases are sentenced to imprisonment or house arrest and have to pay heavy fines. The Viasna Centre recorded several such cases during the reporting period:
- The Pinsk City and District Court sentenced 62-year-old Natallia Pauliuchenka to two years of house arrest, under Article 368 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits insulting the President of the Republic of Belarus.
- On 2nd March, Dzmitry Lazar, a father of six, was found guilty of insulting a judge or jury, insulting a representative of the authorities and insulting the president. Lazar was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment and a fine of 3,700 roubles. The charge was based on his remarks in a Telegram chat about an employee of the prosecutor’s office, employees of the Ministry of the Interior and a judge.
- On 10 March, Raman Yankouski was convicted of several charges, including insulting a government official, calling for restrictive measures, supporting extremist activities, insulting the President and illegal acts related to privacy and personal data. The charges were based on Yankouski posting videos insulting President Lukashenko and other content deemed “extremist” and “discrediting” to the authorities. He was sentenced to four years and six months in prison and fined 11,000 roubles.
- In March, 64-year-old Aliaksandr Rumko was convicted of insulting the President, “justifying Nazism” and inciting social hatred or discord. The accused reportedly “incited enmity against police officers” and “glorified collaborators” in comments on social media. Rumko was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.
Anti-war and critical speech criminalised
Various forms of anti-war protest and criticism of authorities continue to be criminalised in Belarus, with courts handing down prison sentences on charges of disseminating propaganda, desecration of state symbols and extremism. According to data from the Viasna Centre:
- On 10th March, Dzmitry Lahun was found guilty of desecrating state symbols and sentenced to one year in prison for removing a state flag from a local railway station and destroying the flagpole. On 16th March, Pavel Dubau was sentenced to one year and six months in prison on the same charges for criticising the official flag of Belarus and praising the red-white-red flag of the opposition in a group chat.
- On 23 November 2022, Artsiom Babkou was convicted of "supporting extremist activities" for posting a video showing the movement of Russian military vehicles in the Republic of Belarus and indicating their location, and for sharing the video with several Telegram channels, including those labelled "extremist." The court sentenced him to two years in prison.
- On 15th March, Maksim Aucharenka was convicted of "propaganda and public demonstration of Nazi symbols and paraphernalia.” The defendant allegedly posted an image with Nazi symbols as an assessment of the actions of the Russian army.
Repression of journalists continues
On 7th March, the Belarusian Committee for State Security banned the Belarusian Association of Journalists as an “extremist group.” According to freedom of expression watchdog Article 19, BAJ is the first non-governmental organisation to have been as such by the Belarusian secret services. The decision names multiple BAJ members, including president Andrey Bastunets and vice-president Barys Haretski, as well as six others as involved in extremist activities.
On 15th March, security forces raided the editorial office of the Infa-Kurjer newspaper and arrested three editors, two of whom were later sentenced to administrative detention for resisting arrest. On the same day, the house of the editor-in-chief of Rehiyanalnaya Hazeta, Aliaksandr Mantsevich, in Viliejka was raided. The authorities classified the newspaper's website as "extremist content" in 2022, after which the outlet switched to publishing its content on social media.
On 17th March, the editor-in-chief of the independent news website TUT.BY Maryna Zolataeva and its director Liudmila Chekina were each sentenced to 12 years in prison for incitement to hatred and “disseminating material inciting acts detrimental to national security.”