Speech by Pavel Latushka, head of the National Anti-Crisis Management at the University of Warsaw University of Warsaw 17 May 2022 Distinguished Madam Ambassador, Madam Professor, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I would like to express my sincere respect to Madame Ambassador Elzbieta Smulkova, as a person who has greatly contributed to the establishment of relations between independent Belarus and Poland, and today continues to help in such a difficult struggle of the Belarusians not only in establishing the principles of democracy and freedom in Belarus, but unfortunately, again in preserving the independence of my country. Today a new stage is taking place before our eyes, an epochal stage for the history not only of our countries Belarus and Poland, but also for the whole of Europe, for the whole world. It has recently occurred to me that today we are once again struggling for a civilizational choice, for the right of development or the right of degradation and decline. We, Belarusians, have often heard from our European partners about the priority of human rights and freedoms, about the importance of building states on the principles of democracy. I am sure that in this hall of one of Europe’s leading universities, no one would object to this approach. But what is happening today Belarusians die at the hands of a dictator, they are tortured in prisons, persecuted no longer for their actions, but only for their desire to live by the principles of a free society. Ukrainians are dying in a terrible war. Europe calculates the amount it must pay for freedom, for peace. Do the Belarusians want to die? No. Do Ukrainians want to die? No. Does Europe want to pay for the freedom of the Ukrainian and Belarusian people? Europe is still counting the money. Maybe it’s time, as it may sound now, for Ukrainians and Belarusians to teach Europe what human rights and freedoms are? "Belarus is not Lukashenko" This was one of the headlines of the lecture by the esteemed Ambassador. Let me try to paraphrase it based on what is happening today. Crimea is Ukraine and Belarus is not Russia. Why is this so? Ukraine is fighting for independence and its territorial integrity. And Belarus today is on the verge of losing its independence. Belarus today is a country occupied by Russia. Not through military action. But Russian troops, which are on the territory of Belarus today, are out of control of the Belarusian people. We are occupied informationally, ideologically and politically. At the head of Belarus is a puppet government led by dictator Lukashenko, which exclusively executes the will of the Kremlin. Today, Belarus still has its borders on the map and a flag at the UN. But tomorrow it will be annexed by Russia if… If? If the Europeans make another strategic mistake and start trading political prisoners in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, if they do not apply similar sanctions to Lukashenko’s regime, who is the biggest smuggler of the XXI century, as to Russia. I also agree with President Zelenski, why do we need such a UN, if we have to fight with weapons for peace? Why do we need the UN Convention against Torture when it’s two years already and not a single citizen of Belarus can get justice even within the legal systems of European countries? Why do we need the Human Rights Council if it has prolonged its mandate to collect evidence of the regime’s crimes against the Belarusians for another year? Two years were not enough? Do we need another year? And then another year, and will there be time for justice? Why do we need UNESCO when Director-General Mrs. Azoulay does not even think it necessary to answer the appeal of three Nobel laureates from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia concerning the fact that there are 80 political prisoners of culture in Belarusian jails? We are facing not only a civilizational choice, but the task of a complete overhaul of the security system and the efficiency of a huge number of international servants. Belarus is not Lukashenko. Lukashenko has been ruling the country for 28 years. Lukashenko started killing his political opponents back in the 90s. "Death squads," the disappearance of former Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Gonchar, former Interior Minister Yury Zakharenko, journalists, and businessmen. He was constantly escalating repression and bargaining with the West. In 2020 he went again to kill citizens, during this period 50 thousand Belarusians were arrested, thousands more went through violence and torture, 1200 political prisoners are now in Belarus and it is a European record, the capture of the civil plane "RyanAir", the hybrid war against the EU using migrants whom he drove to the border, he has introduced the death penalty for attempted crimes, almost all independent media have been liquidated, 300 non-governmental organizations were closed, and now the regime is an aggressor in the war against Ukraine. Often meeting with top politicians I have been asking them the same question lately: what more must the dictator do to make you understand that only tough, one-time sanctions, criminal prosecution and complete international isolation are the least the world can do to end the era of tyranny in Belarus? Or is everyone waiting for him, along with Putin, to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus? Someone will say that the Belarusians have exaggerated expectations. I answer, then in Europe there is an underestimated desire to use the available capabilities. Are the 631 missiles launched from the territory of Belarus against Ukraine not enough as well? How many do we need — 632? Are we really going to count them? Belarus is not Lukashenko. As I was leaving the Kupalovsky Theater in August 2020, I told myself and everyone who gathered there that it was important for us to remember: we are not the opposition, we are the majority. Only our country’s future depends on us, not on Europe, not on the West. But today, it is not only Belarus that faces the challenges of the future. Back in 2020, I told my European colleagues — this is a test for the entire Europe, for efficiency, for priorities, for readiness to uphold values. This test today concerns not only the example of Belarus, but the future of the European continent. Madam Ambassador! There are people who write their name in history, but we know for sure that you have not only written your name, but also made the history of independent Belarusian-Polish relations. Thank you that you are still with us in the fight for values — for your and our freedom. My heartfelt thanks for your attention.

Yuri Gubarevich representative of the NAM team on the air of Channel 24 Lukashenko looks like a cornered animal. He changes his rhetoric literally every three days, knowing how the war with Ukraine will end up for Russia. The dictator is trying to find an excuse for his complicity in the war against Ukraine. It is obvious that the results of the last CSTO summit did not satisfy either Putin or Lukashenko. The CSTO countries are not eager to get involved in the war and they will not become allies of either the Putin or Lukashenko regime. All of Lukashenko’s maneuvers to divert attention from his war crimes are aimed at the domestic consumer — it is necessary to send signals to the Belarusian society that the imaginary military threat from Ukraine remains, so it is necessary to mobilize the military in Belarus. However, the Belarusian military does not want to fight for someone else’s interests and the Belarusans cannot be soaked in propaganda — most of them are still against the war with Ukraine.

A Belarusian delegation led by Pavel Latushka took part in an international ceremony at the Mauthausen concentration camp site The organizers did not invite representatives of the Belarusian embassy in Austria to the ceremony to mark the 77th anniversary of the concentration camp’s liberation because of the Lukashenka regime’s complicity in the aggression against Ukraine. The Nazis held political prisoners in the concentration camp, which gives special symbolism to the participation of representatives of Belarus in the ceremony. There were also Belarusians among those tortured in the prison camps. At the invitation of the organizers, the Belarusian delegation was represented by Pavel Latushka, the people’s embassies of Belarus in Austria and Slovenia, and the diaspora. The Belarusian delegation marched under the national white-red-white flag and laid a wreath to the monument to the victims of the concentration camp. Pavel Latushka had a conversation with the chairman of the International Memorial Foundation Willy Merny, who noted that he stands for the immediate release of 1200 political prisoners in Belarus and is outraged by the arrests of members of independent trade unions.

Until February 2022, the EU and USА sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime were mostly synchronized. The potash and petrochemical sectors of the economy were equally restricted, but there were loopholes in the sanctions adopted. The regime circumvented them through European firms, controlled or corrupted by the Lukashenko regime. The situation changed fundamentally after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, supported by the Lukashenko regime. The EU and the USА are unable to fully synchronize their approaches to sanctions pressure against the aggressors, as they began to act independently, faster and more decisively. The EU promptly eliminated most of the loopholes, but imposed only minor restrictions on the financial sector that could not seriously affect the regime. Moreover, the regime adapted quickly enough to circumvent them. The USA, in its turn, quickly included several Belarusian banks into its sanctions lists, but did not deprive the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus of the possibility to use its reserves. So far, the sanctions have not achieved their goals: neither in terms of depriving the Lukashenko regime of the financial means to retain power, nor in terms of meeting the demands of the Belarusian people, because the regime does not consider them a significant threat to its chances for survival. Sanctions against the two aggressors must be synchronized. All the measures taken against Russia are important to apply against the Lukashenko regime as well, because any difference allows him to smuggle, which for a long time was the main source of income for the closest entourage of the main smuggler of the 21st century — Lukashenko.

The NAM lawyer Mikhail Kirilyuk about the new law in a commentary for the "Belarus Brain" channel No one has seen the text of the law. If, according to the authors, the law reflects the will of the Belarusians, why are they afraid to show it? The exact list of articles covered by the law would be really important if the regime actually prosecuted criminals. In reality, the Belarusan security forces act in the opposite way: They find those individuals who they think pose a danger to them. They determine what kind of punishment they would like to apply. They select the article of the Criminal Code or the Administrative Offences Code which contains such sanctions. They falsify evidence in order to make this imitation look decent. The first people who are going to be prosecuted under this "law" are the representatives of the democratic forces and activists. The practice of recent years shows that in the future any Belarusan can become a figurehead, whom the regime considers dangerous for itself.

Valery Matskevich, representative of the NAМ team, on the air of Ukraine 24 channel It is with the consent and approval of Lukashenko that more than 600 missiles were launched on the territory of Ukraine. At the same time he dares to claim neutrality and his readiness to participate in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The dictator understands that Russia is losing the war and does not want to be among the losers. Lukashenko is afraid to stay behind the iron curtain with Putin and seeks to establish contacts with Western politicians. But thanks to our joint efforts, the West is not ready to compromise in any format until the demands of the Belarusian people are met. The fact that there is no ground offensive by the Belarusian military is not Lukashenko’s merit. It is the merit of the Belarusians, who do not want to fight against Ukraine and sabotage the orders of the regime in every possible way. Belarusian partisans have carried out more than 80 railroad actions aimed at preventing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On May 8, 1945 the world learned that the bloodiest war in Europe was ended with the defeat of Hitler's fascism. The post-war security system was based on the principle of the prohibition of aggression - this must never happen again. 77 years later we have become witnesses of the terrible events taking place in brotherly Ukraine where explosions are once again heard and civilians are killed. We, belarusians and europeans, remember all the terrible mistakes of the past and understand the tragedy of modern war. The military aggression of Russia and the regime of Belarus against the people of Ukraine must stop! Belarusians are against the war! We honor the memory of those who liberated European countries from the fascist plague in the twentieth century and are proud of the Ukrainians and those who are now heroically fighting on the side of Ukraine to ensure that such a phenomenon has no place on earth. The National Anti-Crisis Management team suggests that on May 8, 2022, you take part in laying flowers on the graves of the soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of Europe from fascism. Place your flowers at the graves of those who died in the war against fascism: Address: Żwirki I Wigury 51, 02-091 Warszawa (google maps) Beginning at 12:00 noon.

More than 700 companies and services have stopped working in Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine. During this period, 149 companies stopped cooperating with Belarus as a country complicit in the aggression against Ukraine The NAM team prepared and sent appeals to the companies which stopped cooperating with Russia, but which continue to work in Belarus, within the framework of the "Not a cent for war" campaign, demanding to stop the cooperation with Lukashenko’s regime, who usurped the power in Belarus. Why do companies, having broken off relations with Russia, continue working at the Belarusian market? Because why stop doing business when it is so tempting to take part in creating offshore companies in Belarus for Russia and keeping their profits? When it becomes impossible to do business safely in Russia every day and image risks increase, in Belarus you can keep your company without losing face, in their opinion. But it will not be the same as before. The world is demanding more and more from everyone a clear position on a certain issue — for or against the war? By ceasing cooperation with Russia and Belarus, companies declare their unwillingness to finance senseless aggression, murder and violence, and they have no doubt that the two regimes — Putin in Russia and Lukashenko in Belarus — are responsible for the war in Ukraine. Belarusians, support our "Not a cent for war" campaign by sending appeals to foreign companies to stop financing the war. The NAM has prepared a list of companies and links to their social networks, where you can publish your appeals. Diasporas of Belarusians, hold actions near the offices of companies calling on them to stop sponsoring Lukashenko’s regime by suspending their activities in Belarus.

The head of the NAM Pavel Latushka on Khodorkovsky Live The screening of the response force, which has started in Belarus, provides an opportunity to assess the potential of the army’s involvement in the war. The aim is to draw Ukraine’s armed forces to the border with Belarus as far as possible in order to weaken possible opposition to Russian troops in Donbass. There is no response to Makey’s letter, in which he tried to justify to Western politicians that the Lukashenko regime’s involvement in the war in Ukraine is a lie. Because today none of the European diplomats have any plans to start a dialogue with Lukashenko. Propaganda says that its main task is to preserve the security of Russia and Belarus, justifying the verification of the reaction forces by alleged provocations from Ukraine. Everyone understands Lukashenko’s status and the role he plays in the war with Ukraine. His role is unquestioning obedience to Putin and making the territory of Belarus available for aggression.

Filing criminal charges for violence on Okrestina. We need your help! The NAМ team has gathered materials on several victims of violence in the Okrestina detention center to submit to Polish law enforcement. Our team also found attorneys who prepared free of charge applications for criminal cases. If these criminal cases are initiated, we will demand that the suspects be summoned to Polish law enforcement authorities and declared internationally wanted. According to Polish law, law enforcement agencies accept documents only from a licensed interpreter (sworn translator). The translation includes legal and medical documents confirming the fact of violence. All sworn translators we have contacted are ready to work on their standard terms. The exact amount of money for a translation will be known after it is done, but at the moment it already amounts to at least 5000 PLN. If a translator can do it for less money, the balance will be used to translate similar applications in other countries, where the NAМ is also preparing applications for filing with local prosecutor’s offices. We need your help to provide these documents for the victims of violence in Belarus and to work to bring all the perpetrators to justice. Fundraising for documents to be submitted to the law enforcement authorities in Poland. Help your loved ones first and, if you still have the opportunity, support the work of our team as well: link.

The NAМ foreign policy advisor Pavel Berstov on the air of TRT World TV channel It is important to understand that today Belarus is under the Russian occupation. Lukashenko has actually surrendered our sovereignty to the Kremlin. Legally, we are not part of Russia, but the puppet government has long been unable to control the situation inside the country. However, Belarus is not Lukashenko and his regime. Our country is us, the Belarusians. And it depends on us alone to preserve the sovereignty of our state. We have risen up and united as a nation. We are united and continue our fight, both internationally and domestically. The whole world sees the work of the leaders of the Belarusian democratic forces, who not only maintain the image of our country at the highest political level, but also prepare a firm legal basis for bringing Lukashenko and all those responsible for crimes against the people of Belarus and Ukraine to justice. Despite the scale of repression, Belarusians do not stop fighting inside the country. Organized resistance by partisans on the railroads, cyber-attacks on databases of state services and departments, the struggle against propaganda, and neighborhood protest activities continue. All this maintains the morale of the Belarusians. It is extremely important to raise and make visible the topic of the Belarusian protest, including through the international media. The whole world should see: we have not stopped fighting. The whole world must understand that Lukashenko is Putin’s puppet. Both dictators and their accomplices must be punished for their crimes. This is what the large-scale the NAМ campaign "Punish Putin’s Puppet" is aimed at, combining all projects to bring Lukashenko and his puppet regime to justice.

At the forty-ninth session of the UN Human Rights Council (28 February — 1 April 2022), a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in Belarus ahead of the 2020 presidential election and beyond was presented. The report covered the period from 1 May 2020 to 31 December 2021. In the report, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provided an overview of the human rights situation in Belarus, including arbitrary detention, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the failure to effectively investigate allegations of such violations and the lack of respect for due process and the right to a fair trial. The report is mainly based on information obtained through 145 interviews with a wide range of victims, witnesses, lawyers, representatives of non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders met in person or communicated to them remotely. Due diligence was exercised in assessing the credibility and reliability of all sources, consent was obtained from sources, and all necessary measures were taken to protect confidentiality. The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Belarus. The Council urged the Belarusian authorities to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and regretted that the Government of Belarus had refused the High Commissioner’s request to grant access to a group of experts to the territory of Belarus. The Council extended the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for one year and instructed him to continue to monitor and report on the situation of human rights, to make a comprehensive study of all alleged human rights violations committed in Belarus since 1 May 2020 in the run-up to and after the 2020 presidential elections, including possible gender aspects of such violations, to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations, and to collect, consolidate, preserve Following the monitoring, prepare an interim oral update report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-first session and a comprehensive written report at its fifty-second session. Voting results: In favour (22): Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Honduras, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States. Against (6): Bolivia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Russian Federation and Venezuela. Abstentions (19): Armenia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan. Summary of the report: Following the decision of Lukashenko to run for a new term, there were protests across the country that were violently dispersed by the police, and the human rights situation in Belarus deteriorated markedly. The pre-election period was characterized by repressions against activists, human rights activists, NGOs and journalists; a number of opposition candidates were arbitrarily detained on the eve of the election. After the election, hundreds of thousands of people turned out at rallies to express their disagreement with the widely disputed results. Representing the largest anti-government movement in the history of Belarus, the protests — including women’s marches — took place in all six regions and united people from all walks of life, men, women, children, pensioners and students, often expressing their resistance by carrying white-red-white flags and wearing white ribbons. The government responded with massive and brutal repression. In an attempt to stop the protests from spreading, security forces blocked major roads leading to Minsk, and Internet access was blocked across the country for at least 61 hours. Various state security forces were involved in responding to the protests, including police officers, the Special Purpose Police Unit (OMON), the special anti-terrorist unit Almaz, the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK), internal troops, the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB), and the presidential security service. People without insignia, wearing balaclavas, also took part in the violent dispersal of the protests, creating an atmosphere of fear and lawlessness. The security forces made no attempt to communicate with the protesters or give appropriate warnings before using water cannons, shooting rubber bullets or using stun grenades to forcefully disperse the crowd. The riot police indiscriminately beat protesters and bystanders with batons during the dispersal. According to several witnesses, in Minsk and other cities the security forces stopped cars, pushed people out of them, beat them, and then detained them. Several people were beaten until they lost consciousness. Medical examinations recorded bruises indicative of beatings with truncheons. In most cases, these injuries were on the back of the victims' bodies, indicating that they were not confronted by security forces at the time of the blows. The widespread use of stun grenades against demonstrators was documented. In several documented cases, security forces threw or launched stun grenades directly at people, inflicting serious, life-threatening injuries. Injuries resulting from the use of force included bruises to the torso, buttocks and rear surface of the legs, head injuries (such as brain contusion), concussion, traumatic wounds, fractures and burns, tympanic membrane perforations due to acoustic trauma and eye injuries. More severe injuries included multiple organ damage from rubber-coated steel bullets and internal organ damage from fragmentation fragments from high-explosive grenades and burns from explosions. Information was confirmed concerning at least three deaths, allegedly the result of unjustified or disproportionate use of force during the protests. These included Alexander Taraikovsky (shot in the chest, allegedly with a rubber bullet, in Minsk on 10 August); Alexander Vikhor (died in custody in Gomel on 12 August); and Gennady Shutov (allegedly shot in the head by a plainclothes policeman in Brest on 11 August and died in hospital on 19 August). The authorities denied responsibility for these murders, but did not conduct an effective investigation. The authorities claim that the decision to disperse the protests was made in order to maintain public order. However, no facts have been established indicating that the protests as such were violent or caused serious and prolonged disturbances of the kind that would justify a forced dispersal. Rather, the disproportionate force was aimed at generally suppressing expressions of dissent, intimidating the population, and shielding the incumbent government from criticism, which are not legitimate goals. While it is impossible to determine the exact number of people subjected to violence by state authorities, it can be reasonably estimated in the thousands. The nature of the response of the security forces also violated the freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly of hundreds of thousands of Belarusians. There is sufficient reason to believe that the decision to use force against peaceful protesters was taken at a high level in the government and was carried out with a high degree of coordination. On July 28, 2020, the president instructed the head of the Minsk riot police, Dzmitry Balaba, to deal harshly with the protesters. On August 6th Minister of Internal Affairs Yury Karayev met with the heads of regional police departments and, referring to the orders of the commander-in-chief and threatening with consequences in case of their non-fulfillment, instructed them to prevent people from gathering and detain them. The leadership of the GUBOPIК assigned officers to "assault groups", together with the military, to suppress the protests. On 11 August the deputy head of Minsk regional police ordered to use physical force and special means, as well as to beat and detain anyone who was "talking on the phone" or standing in a group of five people "at a bus stop. It is established that at least 37,000 people were arbitrarily arrested and detained between May 2020 and May 2021; some 13,500 people (11,800 men, 1,000 women and 700 children) were arrested between August 9 and 14 alone. During these six days, arrests were made in more than 100 cities, towns and villages throughout Belarus, 4,616 in Minsk alone. In the rest of the country: more than 860 arrests were made in Brest, more than 850 in Grodno, about 800 in Vitebsk, about 700 in Mogilev and about 650 in Gomel. The massive number of arrests and detentions in response to peaceful protests reached an unprecedented scale for Belarus. Victims said that during this time they were regularly severely beaten and subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment. They were not allowed to read the police reports. Those who demanded to read them or refused to sign them were beaten or threatened, including with rape. Detainees between 9 and 14 August were subjected to long and repeated beatings with truncheons during transportation in security force vehicles (trolley car), police stations and detention facilities; forced to run from cars to buildings past a line of security forces, who beat them with truncheons as they passed ("corridors"); and forced to remain in stressful positions for hours in the courtyards and corridors of police stations and detention facilities, such as facing the wall, kneeling and elbowing, or lying face down on the ground for hours with their hands tied behind their backs. Pleas for medical assistance, water, food, and access to the toilet were largely ignored, and detainees were often beaten to discourage them from complaining. Those who were already visibly injured continued to be beaten or even electroshocked, often on damaged and swollen parts of the body, which caused particularly excruciating pain. The degree and severity of ill-treatment was often determined by law enforcement officers on the basis of people’s appearance or the color marks and symbols placed on their bodies by security forces at the time of arrest. Detainees were also tortured or abused to force them to unlock their cell phones or provide passwords or other information. Men were found to have been raped and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence were used against men and women in detention. Male detainees reported anal penetration with truncheons, which amounted to rape, as well as being grabbed by their genitals or having their genitals twisted. Injuries documented by medics corroborate accounts of such penetrations. Medical records also show traumatic injuries to the male genitals, including injuries, multiple abrasions and contusions. Detainees were held in inhumane conditions, despite precautions from COVID-19, they were transported in overcrowded and unventilated security vehicles, thrown on top of each other, or locked together in metal compartments (cups) designed for one detainee. Detainees in Okrestino and Zhodino stated that 30 to 50 people were placed in cells designed for seven or eight people, without proper ventilation or sanitation, and were given one bottle of water to share with everyone. In addition, they were denied food for long periods of time and could not sleep or lie down due to lack of beds or space. They had to listen to the screams of those who were beaten in neighboring cells or corridors. There are sufficient grounds to believe that the actions committed during the detention by the Belarusian security forces in Minsk and other cities between August 9 and 14, 2020, qualify as torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. International law establishes a legal obligation on states to investigate, prosecute and punish acts of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and provide victims with effective remedies and reparations. But there are no known criminal charges, indictments, or convictions for acts of violence by security forces against protesters or detainees. All complaints were dismissed. Many victims were afraid to file complaints, and some victims who did file said they were subsequently subjected to reprisals. In some cases criminal and administrative charges were pressed against complainants for participating in protests after they filed complaints. Others stated that they had been dissuaded from filing a complaint after their release. On August 26, 2021, the Investigative Committee announced that it had completed its review of about 5,000 abuse complaints received in the summer/fall of 2020, all of which were dismissed as "unconfirmed," and the allegations of abuse of power, torture, and sexual assault were also unconfirmed. The committee also called the complainants "drunks," "liars," and people with criminal records who thought they could avoid prosecution by filing a complaint. In a further effort to intimidate and suppress political opposition and dissent, tens of thousands of people were charged with Article 23.34 and other administrative offenses, and hundreds were charged with criminal offenses. From August 9−14, "conveyor belt" summary administrative trials were held in detention facilities in closed hearings that lacked basic procedural safeguards and — according to the defendants — often lasted only a few minutes. With few exceptions, judges ignored defendants, despite visible injuries, when they tried to claim that they had been tortured or ill-treated. The inspection noted numerous violations of the rights to due process and fair trial in both administrative and criminal cases. Access of lawyers to their clients was hindered, defendants were not able to talk to their lawyers in confidence, and lawyers were denied adequate access to case files or sufficient time to consult and prepare their defense. Prosecution witnesses often testified anonymously via Skype. In criminal cases, particularly those of high-ranking dissidents, hearings were closed, and defense attorneys were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. Lawyers who defended such cases or spoke out about human rights violations and the lack of rule of law or referred cases to UN human rights mechanisms were imprisoned, harassed and intimidated, and faced disbarment and disciplinary sanctions. Since the election and as of November 2021, 36 attorneys have had their licenses revoked, either through revocation of license or loss of certification, under procedures facilitated by the Bar Association’s lack of independence and the Ministry of Justice’s extensive control over the legal profession. Amendments to the Lawyers and Lawyers Act, which went into effect in November 2021, further expanded the Ministry’s authority in this area. The intimidation and punishment of independent lawyers has a serious chilling effect on the legal profession and effectively denies victims of human rights violations the right to a fair trial and access to justice. By May 2021, the authorities cracked down on the remaining independent media. On May 18, the website of Tut. by, a popular online news portal, was blocked, a criminal case was opened against the media company for tax fraud, and 15 journalists were detained. On August 13, its websites, social media sites, and logos were declared "extremist materials." On July 8, authorities blocked three news sites, including Nasha Niva, one of the oldest media outlets in Belarus, conducted more than 20 searches, and arrested 11 journalists. BelaPAN news agency and Belsat TV were declared "extremist" organizations in November, as was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in December. By the end of 2021, 170 Telegram channels and 13 media outlets were also deemed "extremist," 146 searches were conducted in the offices and homes of journalists, and 32 journalists were detained. In October GUBOPIK warned that subscription to such channel entails criminal responsibility for participation in "extremist formation. By May 2021, some 37,000 people had been arrested and detained in Belarus in connection with the elections, including some 13,500 between August 9 and 14, 2020. These arrests and detentions, accompanied by unlawful use of force that caused serious bodily injury and harm to health, and accompanied by torture and ill-treatment, including rape, were massive in nature and were intended to pressure the population, suppress dissent and public expressions of opposition to the incumbent president. On July 14, 2021, 50 searches were conducted in the offices and homes of human rights defenders and 20 people were detained. By October 2021, some 270 non-governmental organizations, including the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the oldest human rights organization in Belarus, were shut down. This appears to be the result of a concerted effort to eliminate any credible independent human rights activity to combat violations and impunity in Belarus. By the end of 2021, 969 people (858 men and 111 women) were in prison on politically motivated charges. Of those convicted, several received prison sentences of 10 years or more: for example, Maria Kolesnikova was sentenced to 11 years, while opposition leaders Sergei Tikhanovsky, Nikolai Statkevich and Igor Losik were sentenced to 18, 14 and 15 years, respectively. After the election, at least 100,000 people sought safety abroad, mostly in other European countries. In many cases, those interviewed expressed fears that their family members who remained at home were being harassed or intimidated by the authorities. On September 24, 2021, the High Commissioner noted that the government’s response to the disputed elections in Belarus was primarily aimed at suppressing criticism and dissent against government policy, not at protecting public order. This conclusion was confirmed by the expert examination, which also pointed to an active policy of preventing truth, justice and accountability for violations committed. Given the scale and nature of the violations identified in the report, their widespread and systematic nature, and the evidence of official policy, awareness and guidance regarding their collective execution by multiple government agencies, particularly with respect to mass arbitrary detentions, there is sufficient evidence to warrant further evaluation of the available evidence in terms of applicable international criminal law. The Human Rights Council stressed the need for accountability for human rights violations in Belarus and requested the High Commissioner to promote accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims. Criminal investigations into human rights violations and potential international crimes committed in Belarus have been opened in at least four competent jurisdictions outside of Belarus. In this regard, it is crucial to continue efforts to collect, document and preserve evidence of violations in order to facilitate future accountability processes.