Report: The Continuous Crackdown on the Legal Profession in Belarus
28 September 2022

Report: The Continuous Crackdown on the Legal Profession in Belarus

Belarus

In cooperation with the American Bar Association (ABA) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), Lawyers for Lawyers has prepared this report to summarize the ongoing worrying trend of suppression of the legal profession and individual lawyers in Belarus as highlighted by the Human Rights Council in Resolution 50/L.18.

It is a follow-up to our 2021 report titled “Lawyers Under Threat: Increasing Suppression of the Legal Profession in Belarus” (“2021 Belarus Report”) and outlines the ongoing government crackdown on opposition and critical voices in Belarus in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential elections through mid-August 2022.

The report uses various case studies which illustrate that lawyers defending opposition figures, protestors, and those who speak out about the rule of law, the administration of justice, and human rights are facing harassment, intimidation, hindrance, and interference. The cases also demonstrate the systematic violation of Belarusian lawyers’ human rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. Besides describing the government crackdown in these individual cases, the report reveals a concerning and ongoing trend of interference with the independence of the legal profession in Belarus that has continued up to the present.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has condemned the ongoing crackdown, stating that this period of time in Belarus shows fundamental human rights violations. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus has also deplored the situation, finding that “systemic human rights violations and impunity for those crimes have engulfed Belarus in a climate of arbitrariness and fear”. This widespread and systematic repression has encompassed the work of the legal profession in Belarus. Between August 2020 and June 2022, at least 56 lawyers have been prevented from practicing their profession through disbarment and the revocation of their licenses. In addition to targeting lawyers on an individual basis, the government of Belarus interfered with the legal profession as a whole by amending the Law on the Bar and Advocacy in Belarus in May 2021 so that it, undercuts the Bar’s independence.

The authors of the report urge the government of Belarus to take all necessary measures to ensure the full independence of the legal profession in Belarus; to guarantee the physical safety and security of lawyers in Belarus; to cease all acts of harassment against lawyers, including searches of business and private premises, politically motivated investigations, arrests, detentions and criminal prosecutions, extraordinary certifications, and disbarments; to reinstate the disbarred lawyers and to repeal the amendments to the Law on the Bar and Advocacy in Belarus.

Meer nieuws uit Belarus

26 June 2024

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: public letter to the Belarusian authorities on the continued incommunicado detention of Maksim Znak

Belarus

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

Lees verder
16 April 2024

‘Flight to Lithuania’ — interview with Natalia Matskevich and Paulius Griciunas

Belarus

A new law has been passed in Lithuania which allows lawyers from outside the European Union to register as third-party lawyers in Lithuania. This legislative advance is of great symbolic importance according to Belarusian lawyer Natalia Matskevich. By Trudeke Sillevis

Lees verder
21 March 2024

Joint oral statement to Human Rights Council on Belarus

Belarus

On 19 March 2024, Lawyers for Lawyers, the Law Society of England and Wales, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute delivered an oral statement during the interactive dialogue on the interim oral update of the High Commissioner on the situation of

Lees verder
7 February 2024

Report on Belarus: The Crisis of the Legal Profession Continued Repressions 2022 – 2023

Belarus

In cooperation with the American Bar Association (ABA) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the Center for Constitutionalism and Human Rights, Right to Defense, and Lawyers for Lawyers have prepared this report to summarize the ongoing worrying

Lees verder