Universal jurisdiction: Survivors of torture report Lukashenka’s crimes to German Prosecutor’s Office
Complaints of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s committing crimes against humanity have been filed to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Germany, Deutsche Welle reports.
Four German lawyers contacted the prosecutor’s office located in Karlsruhe on behalf of ten Belarusian survivors of torture, reporting numerous cases of using violence against civilians amid the post-election peaceful protests in Belarus.
As neither Lukashenka nor his law enforcement officers are facing the legal consequences of excessive use of force and torturing detainees in Belarus, the lawyers called on the German authorities to conduct an independent investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the regime. It should be noted that they referred to the universal jurisdiction concept which allows criminal prosecution for crimes prohibited by international law and perpetrated in other states.
According to the German lawyers, their clients lodged complaints of having been put to brutal torture, deprivation of food and sleep, insults and abuse, which inflicted serious damage on the health of all of the victims. In their opinion, the actions by Belarusian authorities were nothing but barbaric acts.
Earlier, several torture victims who managed to leave Belarus asked the authorities of other countries (Lithuania and the Czech Republic) to clear up universal crimes carried out by Belarusian security forces during the suppression of peaceful protests in the country.
belsat.eu
