Łukašenka’s regime violating basic freedoms – UK diplomat

July 5, BPN. The United Kingdom expresses its solidarity with Belarusians “who have shown immense courage in the face of relentless repression,” said Rita French, Britain’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

“The extent of this repression is staggering,” her statement stresses. “A large part of civil society has been destroyed, journalists and human rights defenders are targeted, and peaceful demonstrations are brutally repressed. We continue to see farcical trials leading to long, politically motivated sentences.”

People in Belarusian prisons face torture as well as cruel and degrading treatment, French said. Some human rights violations recorded in Belarus may qualify as crimes against humanity, she noted.

The report on Belarus by the UN Special Rapporteur Anaïs Marin to be presented at 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on July 5 notes legislative amendments “which further restrict political rights and extend the death penalty,” the diplomat said.

These amendments “demonstrate the regime’s contempt for basic freedoms and the rule of law,” she noted.

The UK called on Belarus to consider the recommendations of the UN report and to stop supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.