British lawyers prepare for prosecution of Belarusian President

The newspaper informs, that the British law firm is preparing a personal court claim against Aliaksandr Lukashenka, accusing him of systematic violation of human rights, in particular, of systematic torture inside the KGB-run prisons, BBC informs.

"Human rights investigators have interviewed hundreds of activists who were arrested in the aftermath of last December's disputed presidential elections and have found that torture, beatings and inhumane prison conditions are commonplace in a country which still calls its feared secret police the KGB and is often described as Europe's last dictatorship", - Independent claims.

The leading human rights firm H20 Law says it intends to bring both a private prosecution and civil action against Mr Lukashenka unless he releases all political prisoners.

The company represents interests of the detainees' families. Lawyers hope that a private prosecution could eventually result in an arrest warrant being issued for him or his associates. The Belarusian President and many of his supporters are already restricted by a European Union travel ban, but an arrest warrant would cover those countries outside the EU with which Britain has extradition agreements.

"We already had a wealth of evidence concerning torture inside the KGB detention centres, but the real game- changer was the recent testimony from Ales Mikhalevich," said the H2O Laws representative.

If H2O proceeds as planned, it would be the first time that human rights lawyers have gone after a sovereign head of state. Under international law, torture is one of a small number of crimes that can challenge sovereign immunity.

photo: daylife.com