On 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Lawyers for Lawyers expresses concern over the continued incommunicado detention of lawyer Maksim Znak. According to information received, Mr Znak has now been refused access to his family members, medical services, or independent legal counsel for over 17 months. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has emphasized that this may amount to enforce disappearance. L4L once again calls upon the Belarusian authorities to cease this immediately in a public letter.
Maksim Znak is a Belarusian lawyer and 2021 Lawyers for Lawyers Award-laureate, who received a 10-year prison sentence from a Belarusian court for providing legal counsel to presidential candidates opposed to the regime in Belarus. Prior to the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, Maksim Znak offered legal support to presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka. Following Babaryka’s arrest and disqualification from the election – resulting in a 14-year prison sentence – Maksim Znak then assisted presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was compelled to go into exile after the elections on 9 August 2020. Maksim Znak co-founded the Coordination Council of the Belarusian Opposition with the aim of achieving a peaceful resolution to the post-election crisis. He was elected a member of the Coordination Council’s Presidium.
The public letter outlines the multitude of human rights violations perpetrated against Mr Znak. This includes repeated placements in a punishment cell, total deprivation of contact with the outside world with ensuing lack of access to medical services, independent legal counsel, and contact with his family members. Such conditions are internationally recognized as forms of torture,1 and starkly contravenes the principles of human dignity.
In the detailed letter, Lawyers for Lawyers urges the Belarusian authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Maksim Znak; quash his conviction and ensure the right to an effective remedy in accordance with international law;
- Respect and fulfil his right to access to medical services, independent legal representation, and contact with his family to, inter alia, respect the prohibition and ensure the prevention of torture and ill-treatment;
- Ensure the independent and prompt investigation and prosecution of torture and ill-treatment of Maksim Znak, in accordance with applicable international standards.
Read the full letter here.
