Exiled policeman tried in absentia in Minsk

April 7, BPN. The Minsk City Court has started hearing the case against former policeman Stanisłaŭ Łupanosaŭ without the defendant being present, the court’s schedule says.

Authorities accuse him of high treason, abuse of power and unauthorized copying of data from a computer system.

Łupanosaŭ served with the interior ministry’s Main Directorate for Fight Against Organized Crime and Corruption. He resigned and left the country after the 2020 presidential election. Belarus put him on its list of persons involved in terrorist activities.

Trials in absentia in the so-called special proceedings target those living abroad and evading contact with investigators. The authorities’ ultimate goal in the process is to strip dissidents of their Belarusian citizenship. Amendments listing 34 offenses and allowing for investigations and trials in absentia came into effect in July 2022.

This is the eighth trial in absentia in Belarus over the past five months, the Viasna Human Rights Center said.