Belarus: Joint Statement Remembers Political Prisoners, Calls for International Avenues for Accountability

Item 4 - Interactive dialogue with ID with Group of Independent Experts on Belarus (oral update)

Statement by Issa Hernández Herrera

19 September 2025

On behalf of the World Organisation against Torture, the International Federation for Human Rights and Human Rights Center 'Viasna', we stress that the situation in Belarus has not improved.

The recent politically motivated pardons of a few prisoners do not change the state-organized system of persecution. Since the last dialogue in March 2025, over 300 detentions, arrests, and searches have been documented-though the real figure is far higher, as authorities continue to conceal massive violations amounting to crimes against humanity.

Torture and ill-treatment persist, including deaths in custody. On 8 September, another political prisoner, Andrey Padniabenny, died in prison No. 15 in Mahileu.

We further highlight the continued imprisonment of human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Uladzimir Labkovich, Marfa Rabkova, and Nasta Loika, alongside 27 media workers, 25 trade union activists, and 7 independent lawyers.

Finally, we strongly support the experts' findings on accountability gaps and urge all States to use the mechanisms outlined in the report. In this context, we would welcome the experts' views on whether State referrals of these international crimes to the ICC Prosecutor could be an effective response to ongoing atrocities.

I thank you.