Prosecutors: Over 400 convicts in protests-related criminal cases. More yet to come
On March 17, the Belarusian Prosecutor General’s Office published additional information about criminal cases initiated in the wake of Belarusians’ post-election protesting.
As of today, prosecutors have submitted 468 criminal cases against 631 people to courts, the press service reports. More than 400 people have already been convicted.
According to the agency, the cases were opened over participation in unauthorised mass events and actions that grossly violate public order, violence and threats of violence against representatives of the law enforcement bloc, public insulting, waste of property, hooliganism, abuse of state symbols, etc.
The prosecutor’s office recommended law enforcement bodies use ‘automated equipment and specialised software’ when searching for the people who committed the above-mentioned violations.
In early March, Ivan Naskevich, the then head of the Belarusian Investigative Committee said that the departments of the committee had opened 2,407 criminal cases of ‘extremist nature’ since August 2020.
On 9 August, the large-scale protests started in the country on the back of announcing the preliminary results of the 2020 presidential election; the major demands of Belarusians were Alyaksndr Lukashenka’s resignation; holding a free and fair election; releasing political prisoners; putting an end to police violence as well as bringing to justice those involved in battering and torturing peaceful demonstrators. There are at least seven death cases that are linked to the post-election protests. By the moment, 290 persons have been recognised as political prisoners by the Belarusian human rights community.
Several thousand detainees filed complaints against police officers’ illegal actions to the Investigative Committee. However, not a single criminal case has been opened over the citizens’ appeals.
