On 19 March 2025, Lawyers for Lawyers, the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers, the Law Society of England and Wales and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, delivered an oral statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus.
The statement reads as follows:
The International Bar Association, the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers, the Law Society of England and Wales; Lawyers for Lawyers; Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, thank the Group of Independent Experts their excellent work and are alarmed at their findings.
We continue to condemn the repression of civil society in Belarus, in particular the reprisals against defence lawyers representing political opposition, protesters or defending the rule of law.
We deplore the State’s full control over the judiciary, and condemn the repression against independent lawyers representing dissenting voices and the nearly complete takeover of the legal profession in Belarus, with the inrerference of the Ministry of Justice in their licensing and activities and the Bar Association fails to protect its members
We keep condemning the landmark case of lawyer Maksim Znak, arbitrarily detained since 2020 and still held incommunicado, as well as the arbitrary conviction of lawyers Danilevich, Braginiec, Lazarenka, Yurhilevich and Barodka. We recall that Belarus has ratified and is therefore bound by, inter alia, the UN Convention against Torture and the ICCPR.We urge Belarus to immediately release all individuals arbitrarily detained for political reasons, including lawyers, and cease further persecution.
Lastly, we welcome the referral of the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court by Lithuania, and urge other States to join it.
