GENEVA/VIENNA – The Government of Belarus has committed widespread human rights violations against the country’s civilian population, some amounting to crimes against humanity, as part of a brutal effort to quash all opposition to the rule of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus warned in a new report today. Among the most egregious violations documented are arbitrary arrests and detention on politically motivated grounds, which have become a fixture of the tactics of Belarusian authorities. The report found that men and women in detention had been routinely subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks and threats to rape not only detainees but their partners as well. Security forces displayed marked brutality towards LGBTIQ+ individuals, using physical violence and dehumanizing language. The report, the Group of Experts’ first to the Human Rights Council since it was established in April 2024, said the violations had occurred in the context of broader efforts to keep President Aleksandr Lukashenko in power. The violations, it said, were widespread, systematic and directed against civilians critical of the Government. The Group of Experts found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that some violations amount to the crimes against humanity of imprisonment and persecution on political grounds. Those detained in penal colonies have been subjected to a particularly discriminatory treatment designed to punish them, which more broadly serves to crush political resistance. Many have been arrested multiple times, including immediately after being released for the first time. By changing laws on “extremism,” prosecuting defence lawyers, and effectively placing the Bar Association under the control of the Ministry of Justice, State authorities have set in place a system that systematically violates fair trial rights of Belarusian citizens. In 2024, the Government adopted measures that purged most potential sources of dissent and opposition. Law enforcement agencies now have enhanced digital surveillance capabilities which they use to monitor online activities of individuals, often leading to prosecutions. Also in 2024, at least 228 civil society organizations were liquidated. As a result of these ongoing violations, hundreds of thousands of people have left Belarus since 2020. This includes lawyers, activists, members of civil society organisations, and journalists. Despite being forced into exile, many are charged and convicted under the Criminal Code for discrediting Belarus and conspiring to seize State power. The Group of Experts reiterates the importance of judicial and non-judicial accountability. Identifying and prosecuting perpetrators of human rights violations and crimes against humanity is key to ending Belarus’s culture of impunity and integral for the victims to receive justice. ENDS Background: The Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus was established by the Human Rights Council on 4 April 2024 through resolution A/HRC/RES/55/27, for a renewable period of one year, to investigate and establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Belarus since 1 May 2020, including their gender and age dimensions and their impact on victims and survivors. More information about the Group of Experts can be found here. For media queries, please contact: Todd Pitman, Media Adviser for the UN Human Rights Council’s Investigative Mechanisms, todd.pitman@un.org; or Pascal Sim, Human Rights Council Media Officer simp@un.org.