Siarhej Zikratski is a well-known Belarusian lawyer. He received his education in Belarus, with additional education in the United Kingdom, Latvia, and Poland. Mr. Zikratski specialized in legal aid to Belarusian business, media, and IT companies. In 2020-2021 he defended Belarusian media TUT.BY in politically motivated trials, Belsat journalist Katsiaryna Andreyeva, program director of the Press Club Alla Sharko, was one of the defenders of Maksim Znak. In March, Mr. Zikratski was expelled from the Belarusian National Bar Association.
As the representative of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Legal Affairs, Siarhej Zikratski will:
– prepare and provide legal analysis and evaluation of documents, decisions, and statements taken in the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya;
– provide legal analysis and assessment of Belarusian legislation and other legal acts in terms of their conformity with the Constitution and their impact on the rights and freedoms of citizens;
– work with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s representatives on constitutional reform and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s special representative on elections on the draft Electoral Code and the draft Constitution;
– work with other representatives of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on related issues;
– develop reform of legal and institutional mechanisms for the protection of rights and freedoms in accordance with the Constitution and the international obligations of Belarus;
– coordinate work on universal jurisdiction;
– cooperate with the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), foreign claims against regime representatives involved in human rights violations;
– cooperate with Belarusian human rights organizations, international organizations, and special agencies of the United Nations human rights system in Belarus.
Siarhej Zikratski: “I am sure that almost every Belarusian in the last year has felt the consequences of a legal default. As a lawyer, I dealt with it every day. My colleague, Maksim Znak, who provided legal assistance to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya earlier, is now behind bars. Hundreds of other Belarusians are imprisoned for political reasons. The task ahead of us is to protect the rights of Belarusians on the international level and prepare the concept of legislative reform in various spheres to introduce them in new Belarus”.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “In our country, the regime does everything to replace official law with criminal notions. And the withdrawal of the lawyer license of Siarhej Zikratski, as well as the repressions of his colleagues, is another example. But I do appreciate a professional with that reputation working for my team. And I believe that his experience will help us fight for the return to Belarus of legality and the release of all those who were imprisoned for wanting to live in a free country”.
Get in contact with Siarhej Zikratski via mail – legal@tsikhanouskaya.org.
