Minsk police arrest defense attorney

February 9, BPN. Police arrested lawyer Maksim Ahiejeŭ in Minsk on February 7, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Charges against him and his whereabouts are unknown.

Ahiejeŭ was a defense attorney in several politically-motivated cases, including the Biełhazprambank case, which was opened after former CEO Viktar Babaryka had announced his presidential bid in 2020.

Ahiejeŭ is a member of the Minsk City Bar Association and worked at the Legal Consultation No 2 of Minsk’s Frunzenski District. He has work experience of over eight years in civil, criminal, labor, administrative and commercial law.

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 with the justice ministry’s approval.

Belarusian rights groups have declared six lawyers as political prisoners.

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

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