The UN has requested Minsk authorities to ensure the physical and moral well-being of Mr. Tsikhanouski and his access to qualified medical assistance, lawyers, and family while his case is under consideration by the Committee (Communication No. 4305/2023).
“Incommunicado detention – with a risk of enforced disappearance – is indicative of a strategy to punish political opponents and hide evidence of their ill-treatment and torture by law enforcement and prison authorities,” the committee said in a statement.
Siarhei Tsikhanouski has been held incommunicado for a year already. He was sentenced to 19,5 years.
The UN Human Rights Committee requested urgent protection measures in respect of lawyer Maksim Znak and politician Viktar Babaryka, who are also held incommunicado along with other political prisoners.
The incommunicado detention of a prisoner is a grave breach of international law and amounts to the enforced disappearance of a person. It may also be indicative of the most severe unlawful acts against a prisoner, such as torture, inhuman treatment, and ill-treatment. It is, therefore, critical to ensure that prisoners have the right to correspond with their close relatives, legal assistance of defense lawyers, and qualified medical personnel.
“We call on our international partners to publicly highlight the problem of incommunicado detention of Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Maksim Znak and Viktar Babaryka, and other political prisoners. We are demanding access to their lawyers and qualified medical personnel, as well as to stop blocking their correspondence with close relatives,” – says the statement of the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Since 09.02.2023, communication with politician Mikalai Statkevich has been interrupted.
On 06.02.2023, politician Viktar Babaryka’s lawyer met with him to provide legal assistance. Subsequently, the administration of the prison refused such meetings. Correspondence and phone calls with Viktar Babaryka were also interrupted.
On 09.02.2023, close relatives of lawyer Maksim Znak received the last letter from him. After that, Mr Znak was deprived of the right to correspondence, as well as visits by his lawyers.
The last news from Siarhei Tsikhanouski was received on 09.03.2023. After that, communication with him was lost both by his lawyers and close relatives.
