“Penultimate” human rights organization liquidated in Belarus – local Helsinki Committee
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Problems with the protection of human rights began to escalate in Belarus after the presidential elections in August 2020.
In Belarus, the country’s Supreme Court has liquidated the human rights organization Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC). About this on Friday, October 1, reported The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), which was also liquidated earlier.
“The Supreme Court has liquidated the last registered human rights organization in Belarus,” the statement says.
The reason for the liquidation of the BHC is associated with an open criminal case against human rights defenders, according to which the Committee allegedly paid two people fees for long-term observation of the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus.
The court session on the claim of the Ministry of Justice on the liquidation of the BHC was held on September 30.
In turn, the deputy head of the organization, Garry Pogonyailo, who represented the BHC in court, stated that there were no violations, and it is illegal to liquidate the organization ahead of schedule – without a verdict in the mentioned case. He petitioned to postpone the liquidation issue until the completion of the criminal proceedings, from which the materials were taken, but the court did not take into account these statements and abolished the organization.
Also, the court did not take into account the appeal of the largest international organizations to the Ministry of Justice with an appeal to drop the claim. The letter from the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus was not taken into account either.
“We consider this decision absolutely unjust and will seek its cancellation both domestically (through the supervisory authority) and at the international level – in the UN Human Rights Committee,” the BHC said.
The last registered human rights organization in the country is Legal Initiatives, but on October 5, a court hearing is scheduled for its liquidation.
Recall about fifty people detained in Belarus for comments on social networks related to the murder of a KGT employee.
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