Minsk January 16, 2021
In response to the recent sentences pronounced in a number of criminal trials involving protesters accused of using violence against or violent resistance to police officers and other officials (Articles 363, 364, and 366 of the Criminal Code), we note the following:
As evidenced by the results of observation of several trials in this category of cases, the courts failed to give a proper assessment of the legality of police-related violence. When passing sentences, the judges assumed that the law enforcement officers carried out their lawful activities to protect public order during illegal protests. Detentions of participants in such gatherings and the use of police gear against them, according to the judges, were legal. Accordingly, any kind of disobedience, resistance, and even more so the use of violence against officers of the Interior Ministry, in their opinion, were criminal. Under current law, police officers and other law enforcement officials enjo