(Vilnius, April 3, 2023) – Belarusian authorities should drop all charges against Nasta Lojka, a prominent human rights defender who faces up to 12 years in prison for her work, and release her immediately, it said today. today seven Belarusian and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch. The organizations condemned the politically motivated prosecution of Nasta Lojka, and the ill-treatment inflicted on him.
« The prosecution by the Belarusian authorities against Nasta Lojka is politically motivated, and constitutes a blatant act of retaliation for his courageous human rights work, which has lasted for almost 15 years said Anastasiia Kruope, associate researcher in the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch. ” The authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Nasta Lojka and drop the criminal charges against her. »
Excerpts from the joint statement of the seven organisations:
Belarus: End the persecution and ill-treatment of human rights defender Nasta Lojka
Belarusian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Nasta Lojka, a human rights defender detained since October 28, 2022, who is being prosecuted on politically motivated charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.
The authorities subjected her to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, disbarred her lawyer, whose successor they refused to certify, launched a smear campaign against her and failed to respond. to inquiries about his situation by United Nations human rights monitors.
The undersigned organizations strongly condemn this treatment and urge the Belarusian authorities to release Nasta Lojka, drop the criminal charges against her, ensure her access to independent lawyers and end her subjection to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. .
Nasta Lojka is a political prisoner whom the Belarusian authorities are persecuting in retaliation for her long-standing work as a human rights defender. She has been actively engaged in this work for nearly 15 years, focusing on anti-discrimination and equality issues, fair trials, the rights of foreigners and stateless persons, and informal education on rights issues. humans. She specializes in freedom of assembly, legal mechanisms for the protection of human rights, trial monitoring, the management of volunteer activities and the fight against hate speech and hate crime.
She is the winner of the award Human Rights Defender of the Year 2022, in recognition of his outstanding work within the human rights community in Belarus.
Since September 6, 2022, Nasta Lojka has served six administrative sentences of 15 days each on the basis of false accusations of “ minor hooliganism under Article 19.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus. On December 24, while still in administrative detention, she was charged with criminal offenses under Article 342, Section 1 (“ organization of group actions seriously undermining public order ”) and Article 130, Section 3 (“ incitement to racial, national, religious or other social enmity or discord ”) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.
Torture and ill-treatment at Okrestina detention center
During Nasta Lojka’s administrative detention at the Okrestina detention center, which is notorious for the mistreatment of detainees, authorities denied her access to legal assistance, as well as medication and warm clothing. She also alleged torture and inhuman treatment in detention. In one example she cited, she was forced to stand in the courtyard of the detention center, without proper clothing, for 8 hours in temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, after which she fell ill for several weeks.
In November 2022, law enforcement raided the home of Nasta Lojka’s mother in an apparent attempt to put further pressure on her daughter.
Suite in English: online here.
Signatory organizations:
- ARTICLE 19
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Front Line Defenders
- Human Constanta
- Human Rights Watch
- World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- REDRESS
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