United Nations independent experts say Belarusian state institutions have worked together since 2020 to repress government critics through arrests, imprisonment and surveillance. Their report, due to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council this week, names courts, police, security services, prosecutors and prison authorities as participants in efforts to silence real or perceived opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko.
The experts describe the violations as systematic, spanning arrest, detention, conviction and supervision after release. They cite arbitrary arrests, torture, denial of legal safeguards, closed trials and continued harassment of former detainees.
What the experts say about the justice system
The report says Belarus’s judiciary played a key role by legitimising abuses and denying victims effective remedies. The experts said courts and other state bodies worked together from arrest through detention and conviction, rather than acting independently to protect legal safeguards.
The experts reiterated earlier findings that some abuses committed since May 2020 could amount to crimes against humanity, including persecution and imprisonment.
What we know now
- The report says the pattern of violations continues to the present day.
- Belarus did not respond to requests from the experts to visit the country or engage with its authorities.
- The experts say Belarus violated multiple international treaties.
- Viasna says more than 900 political prisoners remain in Belarus.
The political crackdown and diplomatic efforts
The findings follow the mass protests that erupted after the August 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko was declared the winner. The opposition and Western governments condemned the result, saying the vote was rigged. Thousands of people were arrested during the crackdown, while Lukashenko denies that Belarus holds political prisoners and has described detainees as “bandits.”
Former political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski said recent releases secured through United States engagement with Minsk had not stopped what he called the machinery of repression. US envoy John Coale arrived in Minsk on Tuesday for talks with Lukashenko aimed at negotiating the release of political prisoners.
What happens next
The UN experts’ report is due to be presented to the Human Rights Council this week, while the talks in Minsk are focused on the release of political prisoners. Read the context: UN Experts Alert on Risk of Genocide and Human Rights Violations in El Obeid, Sudan.
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