At the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, a report titled “Transnational Repression in Belarus: A Brutal Tool of the Persecution of Dissent by the Lukashenka Regime” was presented. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau, spoke during the presentation.
The report shows how the Lukashenka regime continues to persecute Belarusians even beyond the country’s borders, using a wide range of tools for influence and intimidation. It also emphasizes that such actions pose a threat to both Belarusian citizens and the security and sovereignty of European states.
The report includes recommendations for international organizations (including the OSCE) and national governments on developing a joint strategy to protect human rights and state sovereignty in the face of transnational repression.
Leanid Marozau: “Practice shows that the Lukashenka regime systematically abuses international mechanisms of legal cooperation – including the Interpol system – to persecute Belarusians seeking asylum abroad.
The international community must develop a coordinated response within intergovernmental bodies and human rights institutions to filter and block politically motivated requests. This would strengthen protection mechanisms for victims of transnational repression. Only systemic measures can prevent Interpol and other international tools from being turned into weapons by authoritarian regimes”.
The side event was organized by the Prospect Foundation, iSANS, and the Delegation of Flanders to Poland and the Baltic States, with the participation of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office.
