US Department of State condemns torture, cruel treatment in Belarus rights report

August 13, Pozirk. The US Department of State pointed to serious abuses, including torture and cruel treatment in its 2024 report on human rights in Belarus.

The department received information about coercive medical or psychological practices, arbitrary arrests, transnational reprisals against individuals abroad and deliberate collaboration with a foreign country to commit acts of transnational repression. The report also mentioned serious conflict-related violations linked to Belarus’ complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Belarus continues to demonstrate “serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, censorship, and serious restrictions on the internet,” the department said.

It stressed that individuals still cannot publicly criticize officials or the government or discuss policies and issues of public interest without fear of reprisals. People are arrested and sentenced to prison for speaking out against the authorities, including Alaksandar Łukašenka, the diplomats said. They added that, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, more than 400 media professionals have left the country due to repression since 2020.

Furthermore, the report pointed to the persecution of trade unions. “Workers encountered politically motivated pressure, including for attempting to exercise their freedoms of speech, assembly and association or expressing their political opinions.”

It said that workers in state-owned companies, who comprise about 70 percent of the total workforce, are pressured by the authorities.

The report identified impunity for abuses as a serious problem in the security forces.

It stated that the authorities engage in transnational repression by intimidating and harassing individuals outside the country. This includes exiled pro-democracy leaders, civil society activists, human rights defenders, trade unionists, lawyers, students, journalists and others fleeing reprisals.

“The government did not take credible steps or actions to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses,” the department said.

According to the Viasna Human Rights Center, more than 100,000 instances of repression have been documented in Belarus over the past five years.

During this period, the number of political prisoners has increased 47 times the original number, from 25 to 1,187. Dozens have been jailed for political reasons under the Code of Administrative Offenses.

A total of 4,064 people have been recognized as political prisoners since August 2020. At least 8,532 people have faced criminal charges, and at least 7,299 have received politically motivated sentences. A total of 180 people have been convicted in absentia.

This unprecedented political repression has been ongoing since 2020.