We demand the rehabilitation of 16 former political prisoners

Joint statement by the Belarusian human rights community

February 6, 2025

We, representatives of the human rights community of the Republic of Belarus, having received, collected, and analyzed information about the criminal prosecution by the Belarusian authorities of dissidents and participants in peaceful assemblies during and after the 2020 presidential elections, the practice of sentencing and executing their sentences, the legal status of those convicted under the so-called "extremist" articles of the Criminal Code, note the following:

Freedom of peaceful assembly and association is guaranteed, and every person has the right to freedom of expression: this right includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart any information and ideas, regardless of State borders, orally, in writing or through print or artistic forms of expression, or by other means of one's own choice; even a form of expression that may be considered deeply offensive, but at the same time, is included in the scope of this paragraph. Its use may be subject only to restrictions determined by law and necessary in a democratic society to respect the rights and reputation of others; to protect State security, public order, public health or morals.

Nevertheless, if a state party to the Covenant imposes restrictions on the exercise of the rights and freedoms, these restrictions should not jeopardize the very principle of this right.

However, the Belarusian authorities arbitrarily detained, convicted in violation of the rule of law, and now continue to prosecute criminally and administratively for exercising freedom of expression, assembly, and association under various articles of the Criminal Code: for insulting A. Lukashenka, judges, officials, slander of A. Lukashenka and officials; for desecrating state symbols, hooliganism, and vandalism, for participating in group actions that grossly violate public order, for supporting protest initiatives, etc. The facts of this politically motivated persecution often become known only on the eve or after the release of a victim of persecution, whom the human rights community had not recognized as a political prisoner before;

The authorities do not recognize their responsibility for the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of citizens in connection with the exercise of their rights and freedoms provided for by international treaties binding on Belarus, continue to arbitrarily persecute the repressed even after their release, infringing their rights by including them in the list of citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens, or stateless persons involved in extremist activities.

The human rights community recognized many of the dissidents and protesters as political prisoners at the time when they were deprived of their liberty, and collected information about those sentenced to various types of punishment for this, related and unrelated to imprisonment, in respect of which a preventive measure was often chosen in the form of detention or house arrest.

In accordance with the guidelines adopted by the human rights community on the definition of "political prisoner", a political prisoner is a person deprived of liberty if at least one of the following factors occurs:

• a) the deprivation of liberty was applied solely through their political, religious, or other beliefs, as well as in connection with the non-violent exercise of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, other rights and freedoms guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

• b) the deprivation of liberty was applied solely because of non-violent activities aimed at protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms;

• c) the deprivation of liberty was applied solely on the basis of sex, race, skin color, language, religion, national, ethnic, social or ancestral origin, birth, citizenship, sexual orientation and gender identity, property status or other grounds, or based on the existence of a stable connection with communities united by such grounds.

Those convicted and imprisoned solely for expressing an opinion without signs of direct calls to violence or non-symbolic destruction of property, not related to non-symbolic destruction and damage to property for the purpose of expressing an opinion, as well as for participating in peaceful assemblies, fully and unconditionally met the specified criteria during their imprisonment. Their release from custody, house arrest, or after serving their sentence leaves unresolved questions about the revision of their sentences with the purpose of complete cancellation, their rehabilitation, and compensation for the damage caused by arbitrary conviction.

We know the names and circumstances of the cases of the following people who, as punishment for exercising the right to peaceful assembly, were deprived of their liberty: detained, put under house arrest, sentenced to prolonged administrative arrest, to deprivation or restriction of liberty, arrested, and until now released without rehabilitation and compensation for the damage caused:

Darya Andreichykava, Maksim Arbuzau, Viktoryia Aliakseyeva, Ivan Balanchuk, Ivan Vabishchevich, Leu Iuchyn, Volha Nikifarava, Aliaksandr Navitski, Aliaksei Padhaiski, Aliaksei Paulovich, Aleh Piatrouski, Maryna Smirnova, Illia Falei, Halina Shkut, Aliaksandr Yuruts, Alena Burlakova.

We assess the persecution of the above-mentioned persons as politically motivated persecution in connection with their exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly, the right to association, and freedom of expression in relation to the announced results of the presidential elections of the Republic of Belarus and other socially significant events.

With regard to the listed former political prisoners, we demand that the Belarusian authorities immediately review their criminal cases in order to overturn their sentences, fully rehabilitate them with compensation for all types of harm caused by arbitrary conviction and imprisonment, and also demand the immediate release of all political prisoners and citizens detained in connection with the exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly in the post-election period, and to stop political repression against the citizens of the country.

Human Rights Center Viasna;

Belarusian Helsinki Committee;

Legal initiative;

PEN Belarus;

Lawtrend.