Belarus is increasingly terrorizing its citizens abroad, including by forcing people with expired passports to renew their documents in their home country where they may face arrest, according to a group of independent UN experts.
DPA reports that the three-person expert panel appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2024 presented its report on the situation in Belarus to the council on Tuesday.
Released opposition figures also continue to be targeted, said Monika Plattek, a member of the expert group. Some were deported abroad without documents, while their families back home were subjected to surveillance and persecution.
The experts also found that there appeared to be a fixed number of inmates in prison. As soon as one group was released, citizens were arbitrarily picked up and arrested on the streets, Platek said.
“The international community must not look away,” said Susan Bazilli, another member of the expert group. “Those responsible for serious human rights violations must know that impunity is not a permanent shield, and victims must know that their rights have not been forgotten.”
