This is an application to commence proceeding following the commission of the acts of violence against Maksim Kharoshyn, an entrepreneur, detained near his house in Minsk, beaten, taken to a police department and beaten even there until an ambulance was called for him. So he ended up in a hospital and then fled to Lithuania. The evidence includes forensic medical examination results, which established bodily injuries, photos and videos of Kharoshyn's detention, and the suspected security officials' uncovered faces.
Lawyer Giedrius Danėlius, who applied to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Lithuania, explains that Lithuanian law allows a pre-trial investigation and the trial itself if the crime was not committed in Lithuania and the suspect is not in the country. The presence of the applicant, that is, the victim is mandatory. If there is direct evidence, universal jurisdiction enables the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's office is preparing to file other applications in different countries, where hundreds of Belarusians have left after being tortured by the security forces. The project coordination center will be located in Vilnius.
Tsikhanouskaya's advisor Alexander Dabravolski stated that the ultimate goal is criminal prosecution of perpetrators in Belarus. The intermediate goal is the issuance of international wanted notices: “We launched this project as part of the People's Tribunal. Everyone who commits crimes and beat people with truncheons must be held accountable and not be surprised when their name appears on the Interpol list”.
