Since 2020, the Belarusian opposition forces have been trying to bring the people responsible for the repression in Belarus to justice. The issue of criminal accountability of representatives of the Lukashenka regime took on a new meaning after the International Criminal Court put out an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, no ABPs have been issued on the abusers who tortured the Belarusians. When can we expect them, and why haven’t they appeared yet?
On March 17, the UN International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s main ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Russian Children’s Rights Advocate Maria Lvova-Belova. They are charged with the war crime of illegally relocating children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This topic was immediately picked up by the Belarusian democratic forces as well. During a visit to the United States, the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, stated that those responsible for the repression in Belarus should be brought to justice, referring to the arrest warrant for Putin. Commenting on these statements, Atlantic Council expert Hanna Liubakova stated that the new report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in Belarus compares repression to atrocities against humanity. These terms are only used with reason in such institutions, she concluded. All that makes more sense, especially when there are indications and grounds to establish a special International Tribunal.
As Tsikhanouskaya said, 18,000 pieces of sufficient evidence were collected to launch a preliminary investigation against Lukashenka’s regime.
It’s the Lukashenka regime’s turn
Other countries also refer to Putin’s an ABP put out in their actions. For example, on April 5, the Lithuanian government approved the initiative of the Ministry of Justice to hold the Belarusian authorities accountable for the migration crisis. They are accused of failing to comply with the provisions of the Protocol on the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air, supplementing the UN Convention against International Organized Crime. The case must be submitted to arbitration or the International Court of Justice.
“After Putin, it is the Lukashenka regime’s time to be held liable,” said the Lithuanian Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrovolska.
According to the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė, by initiating a case against Lukashenka’s regime in connection with the migration crisis in the International Court of Justice, Lithuania will not only protect its interests. Still, it will also draw the international community’s attention to human rights violations.
Methodically and systematically
The Prosecutor’s Office in Poland is already conducting an investigation of the cases related to the hijacking and forced landing of a Ryanair airliner, causing a migrant crisis at the borders with the European Union, and torture and brutality against citizens of Belarus. On March 24, a representative of the Belarusian United Transitional Cabinet for the Transit of Power and Chairman of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM), Pavel Latushka, testified before the Polish Prosecutor’s Office.
“The investigation is moving forward in an organized and systematic manner. Testimonies are recorded and completed with documents and proof data. All these cases are currently at the stage of collecting depositions from victims and witnesses. I have already handed over some of the evidence to the Prosecutor’s Office,” Latushka said in an interview with Belsat. He also stressed he could not say much more due to the secrecy of the investigation.
He states that over a dozen inquests are underway regarding torture and oppression in Belarus under general criminal jurisdiction in Poland. The allegations in these cases should finally be imposed on the perpetrators of crimes and the person liable – Lukashenka himself.
However, it is too early to indicate a specific date for assigning the case to the court because several hundred or even several thousand victims of the Lukashenka regime state special services should be interrogated. Latushka is confident these cases will be brought to court for justice. Moreover, he firmly believes that legal grounds for issuing an arrest warrant for Lukashenka will appear during the investigation.
“In Poland, such cases are not conducted in absentia, warrants will be publicly released, and people involved in criminal offenses will sooner or later be detained in third countries and brought to court in Poland,” Pavel Latushka said.
The head of the NAM noted that democratic forces, in cooperation with Polish and Lithuanian lawyers, strive to ensure that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague handles the case against high-ranking Belarusian officials. Furthermore, Latushka will insist that all investigations be held under joint supervision and included in one international inquest.
Latushka appealed to the victims to report the crimes to the Prosecutor’s Offices of the countries where they are currently staying. He indicated additional options for reporting offenses: contact the NAM or human rights organizations to initiate criminal lawsuits regarding the crimes of the Belarusian regime under universal jurisdiction.
Extra path
Artsiom Praskalovich, responsible at NAM for domestic policy and public administration, noted in a commentary for the Belsat that the most advanced cases under universal jurisdiction were conducted in Poland, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. He added that in democratic countries, everything is done carefully but slowly, and it takes time, especially in such complex matters.
“As of today, there is no analogy for the Belarusian format. It is the biggest obstacle,” Praskalovich said.
In the opinion of the politician, there has been a lot of progress in bringing Lukashenka’s regime to justice because the parliament of the Czech Republic recognized the KGB and the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption as terrorist organizations. This department of the Belarusian state security services officers are responsible for repressions after the protests in 2020 happened. Cooperation is underway with the Polish Deputies on adopting this resolution.
Praskalovich also referred to the resolution of the European Parliament from March 15, which encourages EU countries to use the principle of universal jurisdiction and to prepare a case against the Belarusian officials, including Alyaksandr Lukashenka. They should finally take responsibility for involvement in violence, repression, and crimes against humanity.
The Belarusian democratic forces and partners in Poland and Lithuania added an extra path by starting cases against the Belarusian judges. They propose they should be recognized as direct accomplices in crimes against humanity and prosecuted under the instruments of universal jurisdiction.
“Today, when people are no longer beaten openly in the streets, human rights violations and violations of the Convention Against Torture and Crimes Against Humanity continue to occur in detention centers and prisons. And the judges are directly involved in this because they know they are giving wrong sentences, ” said the NAM representative.
According to the politician, on the one hand, bringing them to justice is better manageable because their names appear under specific sentences. Meanwhile, it is more difficult because judges do not torture people directly.
Political difficulties and legal issues
However, Praskalovich admits that the problem of prosecuting representatives of Lukashenka’s regime involves legal and political aspects. Every criminal case is a political message. He says that every country has to think ten times about what consequences it may cause.
Even with sufficient physical evidence, state authorities are simultaneously assessing the possible legal consequences:
“This is a big play in which all sectors participate. Making a final judgment in such a criminal case will entail specific changes in economic relations. It may also affect military operations in Ukraine. Reactions to such a worsening situation are taken into account. A decision like this is a clear message to Lukashenka’s regime”.
What is the purpose of starting lawsuits like this?
Artsiom Praskalovich emphasizes that initiating such criminal cases outside Belarus is vital because no one should go unpunished. The descendants of a guilty party should know the role of a given person in repression against their nation.
“We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t trust the process. And our faith is strengthened by the fact that change has already occurred, which means we are achieving our goal,” said a NAM representative.
The politician also noted that the different sorts of trials, which continue today, like those of Nazi criminals, representatives of African regimes, and war criminals from the former Yugoslavia, are the most evident example that justice and honesty will prevail at some point.
“These people have been living in other countries for decades. However, they are still being found and handed over to the judiciary, ” the NAM Council for domestic policy and public administration said.
Praskalovich also highlights that if the regime’s representatives involved in the offenses are proven guilty, they will fear punishment for the rest of their lives. If the Putin and Lukashenka regimes collapse, they will have nowhere to run and hide because they will be wanted worldwide and extradited if captured.
Makar Mysz, ksz/belsat.eu
Translated by PEV.
