October 3, Pozirk. Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ has dismissed Lithuania’s effort to bring Alaksandar Łukašenka to justice as futile.
One does not have to be a recognized expert in international law to understand that the charges are absurd and far-fetched, he told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
The Lithuanian government submitted a file on cross-border crimes against humanity, allegedly committed by Łukašenka and his officials, to the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor on September 30.
“The outgoing Lithuanian administration, which does not stop at using the dirtiest methods that violate international law, has decided to engage West-controlled judicial bodies, whose biased nature has long been obvious to everyone,” the minister said.
He said that Minsk had been aware of Vilnius’ plans.
There are sufficient grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed against the civilian population of Belarus on the orders of high-ranking Belarusian political, law-enforcement and military officials, the referral to the ICC reads. These include deportation, persecution and other inhumane acts.
