UPD. The House of Representatives of the National Assembly passed the draft law “On Amnesty in Connection with the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War” in two readings. The amnesty does not extend to individuals who have expressed civil dissent.
Call to action: Begin taking concrete steps to overcome the national crisis and use the amnesty as an opportunity to release individuals who have peacefully expressed civil dissent.
The Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Legal Initiative, Human Rights Center “Viasna,” Respect-Protect-Fulfill, Belarusian PEN, Lawtrend, Human Constanta, and the Belarusian Association of Journalists submitted an appeal to the House of Representatives ahead of its consideration of the draft law “On Amnesty in Connection with the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.” A copy of the appeal was also submitted to the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, as well as to the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus.
The appeal raises the issue of abandoning a discriminatory approach and extending the amnesty to all persons convicted of so-called "extremist crimes." To do this, it is necessary to revise paragraph 11 of Article 13 of the draft law accordingly, deleting paragraph 14 of the same article and the words "as well as extremist crimes" from part 3 of Article 12 of the draft law.
The point is that the current wording of the draft law excludes the possibility of applying amnesty to those convicted under a number of articles of the Criminal Code that were actively used against participants in peaceful protests and those who disagree with government policies. Such an approach contradicts the principles of justice, humanism, and respect for human rights.
Human rights activists are convinced that such a decision will be a manifestation of political foresight, humanity, and respect for fundamental human rights, necessary to overcome the deep national crisis and advance Belarus towards peace, justice, and the gradual restoration of the rule of law.
