Statement of human rights defenders of Belarus on recognition of 17 new political prisoners

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

July 5, 2024

The Belarusian human rights community notes an increase in the number of convictions and imprisonments under several defamation and desecration of state symbols articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and for other actions aimed at the lawful exercise of the freedom of expression.

We demand to put an end to the persecution of legitimate expression of views and, reaffirming our repeated calls to decriminalize defamation and to refrain from imposing custodial sentences for insulting officials, the state, government agencies, and symbols (as mentioned in the Joint statement of December 22, 2020), note the following:

At the moment we know about the following persons imprisoned for having insulted Aliaksandr Lukashenka, government officials (police officers), judges, desecrated state ans state symbols, and exercised their freedom of opinion in other forms, including the conviction and punishment of:

• Dzmitry Puzikau under Article 370 of the Criminal Code for tearing down the red-green flag; he was sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment in a penal colony;

• Dzianis Semianikhin under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to one year in a penal colony;

• Darya Zayats under Article 370 of the Criminal Code for burning a red-green flag; she was sentenced to one year of imprisonment in a penal colony; 

• Valeryia Drahun under Article 370 of the Criminal Code for burning a red-green flag; she was sentenced to one year of imprisonment in a penal colony; 

• Alena Karpenka under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for defamation of A. Lukashenka; she was sentenced to one year and six month of imprisonment in a penal colony;

• Andrei Karaliou under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to two years in a penal colony;

• Anton Puhach under Articles 368 and 369 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka and an official; he was sentenced to one year and six month of imprisonment in a penal colony;

• Alena Dubrouskaya under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka; she was sentenced to one year and six month of imprisonment in a penal colony;

• Ivan Dziarnovich under Articles 367, 368, 369 of the Criminal Code for defamation of A. Lukashenka, an insult of A. Lukashenka and an official; he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment in a penal colony;

• Aliaksandr Zakharchyk under Article 367 of the Criminal Code for defamation of A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to 3 years of restriction of freedom in an open-type correctional institution and sent to serve his sentence;

• Yury Yurchuk under Article 368 of the Criminal Code for insulting A. Lukashenka; he was sentenced to restriction of freedom in an open-type correctional institution and sent to serve his sentence;

• Tatsiana Makeyeva was placed in custody under Part 1 of Articles 342, 368, 369, 391 of the Criminal Code on charges of organizing mass events, insulting A. Lukashenka, an official, and a judge;

Human rights activists are also aware of a number of people who were sent to a psychiatric hospital for compulsory treatment under defamation articles: Ruslan Zholich under Articles 369, 368 of the Criminal Code, Dzmitry Siuko under Article 369 of the Criminal Code, Aliaksandr Tsiupa, Ivan Miksha under Article 370 of the Criminal Code, Aliaksandr Syrytsa under Article 369 of the Criminal Code.

We consider the persecution and imprisonment of the named individuals to be politically motivated, related to the peaceful exercise of expressing thoughts, and consider them political prisoners in accordance with paragraph 3.1(a) of the Guidelines on the Definition of Political Prisoners. We demand from the Belarusian authorities:

• immediately release political prisoners Dzmitry Puzikau, Dzianis Semianikhin, Darya Zayats, Valeryia Drahun, Alena Karpenka, Andrei Karaliou, Anton Puhach, Alena Dubrouskaya, Ivan Dziarnovich, Aliaksandr Zakharchyk, Yury Yurchuk, Tatsiana Makeyeva, Ruslan Zholich, Dzmitry Siuko, Aliaksandr Tsiupa, Ivan Miksha, Aliaksandr Syrytsa and stop criminal prosecution against them;

• take measures aimed at decriminalizing defamation offenses and repealing articles of the Criminal Code that provide for liability for insulting the State, state symbols and officials, namely, Articles 188, 189, 361, 367, 368, 369, 369-1, 370, and 391 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and to terminate all previously initiated under these articles criminal cases;

• immediately release all political prisoners and stop political repression.

Human Rights Center Viasna;

Legal initiative;

Belarusian Helsinki Committee;

Lawtrend;

Belarusian Association of Journalists;

Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; 

Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House;

PEN Belarus.