The UN has complained about massive human rights violations in Belarus. The human rights situation in the country remains “serious”, UN Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif said on Friday in Geneva, before the UN Human Rights Council. Al-Nashif complained about the systematic repression of civil society and the arbitrary detention of thousands of people. There is also information about torture and deaths in detention centers.
The space for civil society in Belarus is shrinking as a result of a “campaign of violence and repression”, said Al-Nashif. An investigation by the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner revealed a “shocking pattern of arbitrary arrests and harassment based on trumped-up charges” targeting opposition figures, activists and journalists critical of the government. 670 journalists were arrested and 1,400 non-governmental organizations were dissolved.
Al-Nashif said that since 2020, more than 3,750 people have been convicted in trials that “have little regard for regular procedures and the right to a fair trial.” According to his office, 1,500 people are currently detained in Belarus for political reasons.
Torture is widespread in prisons and there are cases of “severe psychological violence,” including death threats and rape, Al-Nashif said. His office is also “deeply disturbed” by reports of deaths behind bars, including cases of suicide.
The UN deputy commissioner for human rights also criticized recent changes to the nationality law in Belarus, which allowed authorities to revoke the citizenship of people living abroad who have been convicted of “extremism”. This change represents a “risk of statelessness” and leaves “a lot of room for abuse”.
The permanent representative of the Minsk government, Larisa Belskaya, sharply criticized the UN conclusions. These were based on “unreliable sources and biased conclusions” and were part of “a disinformation and defamation campaign by Western countries against Belarus”.
In Belarus, after the presidential elections in the summer of 2020, in which, according to official information, the ruler Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected, there were weeks of mass demonstrations against the head of state of previously unknown proportions. Lukashenko violently repressed the protests.