On July 2, 2024, a panel of UN experts called upon the Belarusian authorities to release or remit sentences of all older people imprisoned on political charges.
Independent UN experts received a list of 63 persons aged over 60, including 15 women, who were deprived of liberty for real or suspected political oppositions. Many of them are serving prison sentences of up to 25 years, other are held in pretrial detention facilities or subjected to compulsory psychiatric care. Several detainees have chronic health conditions and disabilities. Three elderly prisoners 60 are held incommunicado.
“The official lists of extremists or terrorists in Belarus often include members of the political opposition and human rights defenders who are submitted to various forms of ill-treatment, including denial of medical care,” the experts said. One of these detainees, a man of 67, has been held incommunicado since February 2023 and may be a victim of an enforced disappearance.
The Belarusian Parliament has recently adopted a law on amnesty for prisoners of pension age but its scope does not include prisoners convicted on political charges. The UN experts have called upon Belarus to reconcile its legislation with the country’s international obligations and release all those who have been unjustly convicted on politically motivated charges.
You will remember that dozens of union leaders and activists currently serve prison sentences having been convicted under political articles of the Criminal Code. Among them, there are older people suffering various grave diseases.
The experts have been in communication with the Government of Belarus on this issue.
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