Justice ministry disbars two attorneys known for defending political prisoners

January 26, BPN. The justice ministry’s qualification commission has disbarred Taćciana Lišankova and Dzmitryj Pihul, members of the Minsk Regional Bar Association.

It cited misconduct incompatible with the legal profession. It has also found the qualifications of four more lawyers to be insufficient for the performance of their duties.

Lišankova defended Taćciana Vaładažskaja, coordinator of Flying University, and Jaŭhien Rezničenka, a defendant in a high-profile politically-motivated case, as well as opposition activists Jaŭhien Batura, Andrej Jurkoŭ and Dźmitryj Palienka.

Pihul was a defense attorney for a member of Busły Liaciać (Storks Are Flying), a protest group, as well as a number of other people convicted on politically-motivated charges, including Arciom Aniščuk and Alena Malinoŭskaja.

Police arrested Pihul in September 2022 and charged him with illegal disclosure of data, human rights groups reported.

Since the start of 2021, authorities have revoked the licenses of at least 60 defense lawyers and shut down about 100 law firms. About 400 individual lawyers also stopped practicing law for fear of persecution.

Pressure on the legal profession mounted after the 2020 election campaign. Lawyers virtually lost their independence: since 2021, they can only work in legal consultancies whose heads are appointed by the justice ministry’s approval.

Alaksandr Łukašenka said that the lawyers should be “under control.”