English

UN rapporteur urged to investigate sanctions against Belarusian judges

 

The European Union’s entry bans against a number of Belarusian judges constitute open pressure on the Belarusian judiciary, Yawhen Lazaraw, a member of Belarus' permanent mission to the UN Office in Geneva, said during a session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

Mr. Lazaraw asked Gabriela Knaul, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, to investigate the matter and report her conclusions to the UN Human Rights Council.

Mr. Lazaraw questioned the human rights records of Western countries, citing the plight of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is likely to be extradited from Britain to Sweden.

Without bringing any charge against Mr. Assange, Swedish authorities issued an order for his arrest, Mr. Lazaraw said. In violation of national regulations, which require the approval of a court or an individual judge for extradition requests to be granted, British courts have twice ordered Mr. Assange's extradition based on an arrest warrant by a Swedish prosecutor, he said.

The extradition of Mr. Assange would create an extremely dangerous precedent, paving the way for any citizen of a European country to be extradited to another European country without proper justification, Mr. Lazaraw warned. The case of Mr. Assange is receiving so much publicity because Sweden may extradite him to the United States, where he may be executed for exercising his right to receive and disseminate information, Mr. Lazaraw said.

He accused Western countries of persecuting Mr. Assange for political reasons and violating the principle of judicial independence and called on Ms. Knaul to look into the matter. // BelaPAN