Polish prosecutors suspend investigation into Belarusian police’s brutality

November 2, Pozirk. Polish prosecutors have suspended an investigation into the illegal imprisonment and torture of Polish nationals in Belarus after the 2020 presidential election, citing Minsk’s refusal to cooperate, RMF FM reported.

Poland has not received a reply to its request for legal assistance sent to Minsk more than two years ago, said the radio station, citing the prosecutor’s office in the Mazowieckie Voivodship.

The prosecutors launched the probe after three Poles complained that they had been arrested in central Minsk and severely beaten by riot police.

The victims said that police beat them in the prisoner vehicle, and beatings continued “in three shifts” at the police station.

Police in Belarus made more than 35,000 arrests during mass protests against election fraud in 2020. Security forces were accused of using excessive force against peaceful protesters.

The International Committee for the Investigation of Torture has documented about 1,800 incidents.

In 2020, the Investigative Committee of Belarus received about 5,000 complaints from victims of police brutality, but it has failed to properly investigate and prove a single incident.