Tsikhanouskaya urges German Federal Prosecutor to open criminal case against Lukashenka
Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya sent a letter to the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, her office reports.
She called on Federal Prosecutor Peter Frank to start criminal persecution on the ground of German lawyers’ criminal complaint filed against Lukashenka and representatives of the regime in order to safeguard the interests of ten Belarusians who suffered from violence.
“Given the escalation of repressions in Belarus, as well as the persecution of journalists and the blocking of the tut.by website, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya asked Federal Prosecutor to take all possible steps to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the statement reads.
According to the politician, the initiation of such case will show Belarusian people that they are protected by international law even if their homeland is being mired in lawlessness.
A few weeks ago, 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. 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. 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.
In response, Lukashenka slammed the initiative, calling Germans ‘fascism successors’ and ‘descendants of the generations that started the Second World War’.
In early May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue of Belarus when taking part in an online meeting with students. She announced further measures that Germany would start offering to Belarusians in humanitarian need, including easier access to visas, scholarships and support to independent media.
belsat.eu
