joint statement

Statement on the criminal prosecution of Ales Lipai, director of the BelaPAN news agency, and pressure on journalists in Belarus

We, representatives of Belarusian human rights organizations, strongly condemn the preemptive detentions of activists throughout the country on the eve of mass events in honor of the centenary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People’s Republic, as well as during and after these peaceful assemblies. According to human rights defenders, on March 25, police officers detained at least 110 people. At least 12 people in Minsk were charged under Art. 23.34 of the Administrative Code (violation of the procedure for organizing and holding mass events).

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights organizations

On 5 June 2017, representatives of the Belarusian human rights organizations received evidence of the use of torture in the KGB pre-trial prison against Siarhei Kuntsevich, one of the persons charged under Part 3 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code as part of a criminal case of ‘preparing mass riots’, which has attracted much public attention.