Human rights defenders ask to take urgent action because of the persecution of the mother of activist Palina Burko

Human rights defenders of Viasna appealed to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus Anaïs Marin, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls because of the detention and pressure on Alena Burko.

The report says that on February 18, 2022, KGB officers came to the house of Alena Burko and conducted a search. According to the law enforcers, Alena's daughter Palina Burko, who used to live in the same apartment, is a witness in a criminal case. However, Palina has left Belarus a long time ago.

After the search, Alena was arrested. On February 21, the court convicted the woman for 12 days of administrative imprisonment.

Palina believes that the search and detention of her mother may be related to the fact that she was an observer in the 2020 presidential election.

"On February 27, 2022, a constitutional referendum is to be held in Belarus. Before the referendum, the persecution of people who were observers of the 2020 presidential election intensified, probably to discourage any independent monitoring activity during the referendum. Palina Burko is an activist of the Belarusian Green Party, she was an observer at the presidential election and was involved in other political and social activities," human rights defenders inform in their report.

Human rights defenders believe that the search in Palina's house and the detention of her mother Alena are an attempt of the KGB to put pressure on Palina, who left Belarus.