Viasna: We demand to stop the criminal prosecution of human rights defender Alena Masliukova

Statement of Human Rights Center Viasna

October 17, 2024

On October 15, 2024, the Homieĺ Regional Court, following a closed court hearing, handed down a verdict in absentia against Viasna human rights defender Alena Masliukova. According to Parts 1 and 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code, the human rights defender was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three years on charges of facilitating extremist activities, including repeat offenses.

In this regard, we, the members of Human Rights Center Viasna, declare the following:

The ongoing instances of arbitrary criminal prosecution of human rights defenders and civil society activists are a shameful practice adopted by the ruling regime in Belarus in an attempt to stifle independent voices in defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Speaking with legitimate goals on public platforms and in Belarusian independent media is fully legal. It should be promoted and protected like any legitimate activity for the protection and promotion of human rights. These assessments are in no way influenced by the fact that the authorities arbitrarily recognize a number of media resources as extremist.

Moreover, the criminal proceedings in absentia have been chosen as a form of prosecution, which deprives the accused of a number of basic procedural guarantees — from the right to know the essence of the charge, to be able to defend themselves, to the opportunity to receive a copy of the verdict and appeal the sentence in a higher court.

Less than a year ago, speaking in New York at the award ceremony for the UN Human Rights Prize received by Viasna, where Alena Masliukova represented the human rights center, Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed that human rights defenders "change lives: they fight, they educate, they hold authorities accountable to make human rights a living, breathing reality. This is a very dangerous job." Sharing these assessments, we are outraged that, despite the completely peaceful nature of the activities of Belarusian human rights defenders, the ruling regime in Belarus is moving further away from civilized and universally accepted standards in human rights, consistently destroying the prospects for civil reconciliation, delaying the possibility of restoring democratic principles and the rule of law.

We recall the inevitable responsibility of those guilty of crimes against humanity committed in Belarus against the civilian population, including the deliberate and serious deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law on the basis of belonging to a particular group or community: those are crimes against humanity in the form of persecution together with other related actions, as established in the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Belarus in the Run-up to the 2020 Presidential Election and in its Aftermath, and we demand:

• to overturn the verdict and stop the criminal prosecution of human rights defender Alena Masliukova;

• to stop criminal prosecution of human rights defenders for exercising freedom of expression and activities in defense of rights and freedoms;

• to bring anti-extremist and criminal procedure legislation in line with Belarus' international human rights obligations.