{"id":151068,"date":"2025-08-13T21:47:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T18:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/151068\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"lawyer-harbatok-disbarred-after-defending-political-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/151068\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyer Harbatok disbarred after defending political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 13, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Lawyer \u015aviat\u0142ana Harbatok has been stripped of her license after a bar examination, Mediazona <\/em>reported, citing the Belarusian Ministry of Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said Harbatok defended political prisoners, such as anarchist Miko\u0142a Dziadok, who was to be released in April but was sentenced to a new term instead, and U\u0142adzimir Kniha, held\u00a0incommunicado after being sentenced in the \u201cCichano\u016dski case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to data released by the International Observatory of Lawyers at Risk in January, only 1,600 practicing lawyers remained in Belarus. The organization said that in 2021, there were 2,200. Thus, the number has decreased by more than 27 percent in four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the release, from 2020 to 2024, at least 11 Belarusian lawyers were charged with crimes, six were imprisoned, four were tortured during detention and at least 139 were deprived of the right to profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government cracked down hard on lawyers after the 2020 unrest, often stripping them of their licenses or forcing them into exile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, it tightened its oversight of the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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