Geneva, 18 September 2020 - Ahead of today’s urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) calls on the Council to establish an independent international investigation into the violent crackdown, ongoing torture and abuse against peaceful protesters in Belarus since the beginning of post-election demonstrations.
For the past two weeks, OMCT partner organisations on the ground have been witnessing another surge in arbitrary arrests, increasingly violent police torture and brutality, and reprisals against victims and journalists who dare speak out about human rights violations.
When indignation over the violent post-election clampdown - which saw thousands arrested, tortured and injured, as well and four people killed - morphed into demonstrations with more than 100,000 participants, there was a sprinkle of hope that officials would listen to the people. However, by early September the authorities were doubling down on their efforts to crush the peaceful protests.
Numerous victims of torture and police brutality are being threatened for speaking out about their ordeal in custody. Victims that seek medical treatment risk denunciation to the police, and those who file official complaints about torture at the hands of police are at the risk of facing criminal charges for committing violence against police officers or for participating in unauthorized demonstrations. The leaders of the peaceful protests have been arrested on spurious criminal charges of overthrowing the constitutional order or forcibly expelled from Belarus. On 7 September, Marya Kalesnikava, a leading opposition member, was kidnapped in central Minsk and threatened to be thrown out of the country “alive or in small pieces”. After security officers failed to expel her to Ukraine, she was placed in pre-trail detention. The authorities continue to harass lawyers who represent victims and protest leaders in these legal proceedings.
Hundreds of testimonies and other evidence collected and documented by the OMCT and its local partner organisations, including “Viasna“, supported by photo, video and medical evidence, describe how riot police units systematically tortured and ill-treated people during arrest, transport, and when locked up in severely overcrowded detention facilities. The evidence shows that beatings, sexual violence, humiliation and the deprivation of access to food and medical care were systematically used to punish and intimidate.
The available information and evidence lead to a firm conclusion that torture was employed in a planned and systematic manner, thus qualifying as crime against humanity.
Most documented cases are from Minsk, but many testimonies show a similar pattern of arbitrary arrest and ill-treatment in other cities across the country. This is probably just the tip of the iceberg as the authorities have been trying to stop the spread of information about human rights violations by all means, including by threatening survivors.
The authorities continue to restrict internet access with targeted interruptions, while blocking independent websites. In August alone, 151 journalists were detained and numerous foreign correspondents lost their accreditation, meaning they can no longer work as journalists in Belarus. At the same time, officials have persistently refused to open an official investigation into the numerous and consistent reports of arbitrary arrest and violence, including torture.
The OMCT calls upon the members of the UN Human Rights Council to stand by the victims of torture and ill-treatment in Belarus and to demand that Belarusian authorities immediately stop the policy of intimidation of torture victims, provide them with protection, promptly investigate all the cases of torture, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
As the authorities continue to deny and refuse any recognition, apology or reparation to victims, but on the contrary honor the perpetrators (mainly OMON and its special forces), persecute victims, intimidate witnesses and families and publicly defame those who suffered, it is vital that the UN Human Rights Council takes a strong stand and launches an independent international investigation into violations occurred in the context of the post-election clampdown.
Press contact:
OMCT: Ms. Iolanda Jaquemet +41 79 539 41 06 / Email : ij@omct.org (Geneva)
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