828 citizens of Belarus sign joint appeal to UN Special Rapporteur Miklós Haraszti

828 citizens of Belarus have signed a joint appeal to Miklós Haraszti, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus. The appeal has been authored by the campaigns “For a Fair Trial in Belarus” and “Mothers’ Movement 328” who seek the review of a number of illegal court decisions.

Mr. Haraszti has confirmed the receipt of the appeal and said the text deserved an in-depth study and analysis, Liudmila Kuchura, representative of “For a Fair Trial in Belarus”, told the Human Rights Center "Viasna".

The essence of the issues highlighted by the campaigners are set out in a publication by the Belarusian Documentation Center. It describes both specific facts and the current state of the country’s judicial system as a whole, pointing out, among other things to a lack of trust in the courts among Belarusian citizens:

“On a daily basis, the bodies that are supposed to protect people, in particular, Belarusian courts and prosecutors, keep violating human rights.

The senior judges of the Supreme Court fail to carry out their supervisory functions, covering up the gross violations of law committed by the lower courts, instead. In these circumstances, the General Prosecutor's Office, and especially the Constitutional Court are just dormant... Ask a passerby what he thinks of the courts... A recent poll on the website of the Supreme Court once again confirms that citizens do not trust the court (95% of those surveyed).

The leaders of our country do not hear us. This means that no one is going to revise the illegal sentences and decisions in civil and criminal cases against our loved ones, as provided for by the legislation.”

A similar appeal has been sent to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.