The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) welcomes the release from prison of 123 political prisoners by the Belarusian authorities on 13 December. Those released include members of the IAPB’s co-lead organisation Human Rights Centre Viasna, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ales Bialiatski and lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich, and prominent opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava.

These long-awaited releases bring relief to those freed and their families, ending prolonged periods of arbitrary detention and exposure to harsh prison conditions, and allowing many individuals to reunite with their loved ones after years of separation. However, as noted by UN experts, those released were effectively subjected to forced exile, with some placed at the risk of statelessness given the confiscation of their identity documents.

More than 1,100 political prisoners remain behind bars, and repression against civil society and political opposition persists, in violation of Belarus’ international human rights obligations.

Several prominent human rights defenders were excluded from the group released, notably Valiantsin Stefanovic, a senior member of the Human Rights Centre Viasna, who has spent more than four years in prison. Marfa Rabkova, detained since September 2020, and Nasta Loika, detained since September 2022, also remain in prison, alongside journalists, lawyers, and activists convicted on the basis of politically motivated charges and imprisoned following unfair trials.

Various human rights institutions, including the UN Committee Against Torture, have documented systematic and widespread ill-treatment and torture in detention, including severe beatings, serious medical neglect, and prolonged solitary confinement, with stricter regimes imposed on those labelled political prisoners.

It is also essential not to lose sight of the fact that repression in Belarus continues unabated, and that justice will only be achieved when all arbitrarily detained individuals are free, the perpetrators of human rights violations have been held accountable, and victims have been provided access to redress.

As summarised in the IAPB’s latest Progress Report, covering the period from April to September 2025, the human rights situation in Belarus remains critically repressive, characterised by systemic political persecution, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and expanding transnational repression. Authorities continue to prosecute those perceived to be disloyal to the regime, weaponise extremism and terrorism legislation to silence dissent, and escalate efforts to target Belarusians abroad, including with trials in absentia.

UN experts have concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that President Lukashenko and other senior officials are responsible for crimes against humanity of political persecution and imprisonment as part of an organised repressive apparatus.

Impunity for human rights violations remains absolute at the national level, reinforcing the urgency of national and international accountability mechanisms, including extra-territorial and universal jurisdiction investigations, and the importance of evidence preservation and analysis for future prosecutions.

The IAPB urges the international community to maintain pressure, closely monitor developments in Belarus, and pursue all available accountability avenues to address ongoing and past human rights violations. Our report ‘Paths to accountability for Belarus’ provides an in-depth mapping of accountability mechanisms capable of addressing serious human rights violations and breaches of international criminal law in Belarus.

We are deeply grateful for the continued support of our donors. Since its establishment, the IAPB has been supported by a wide range of States, notably Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as the European Union.

For more information, please contact: Andrea Huber, IAPB’s Head, at iapb@dignity.dk.

Between October 2024 and March 2025, human rights violations in Belarus persisted at an alarming level, with systematic repression targeting individuals for their real or perceived political dissent. The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) and numerous human rights organisations have documented actions that may amount to crimes against humanity, according to the latest Progress Report by the IAPB.

The presidential elections on 26 January 2025, resulting in Aleksandr Lukashenko’s seventh term amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud, further entrenched authoritarian control and heightened political repression.

“Despite significant political obstacles, the IAPB remains firmly committed to supporting justice for victims and ensuring accountability for human rights violations and international crimes in Belarus”, said Andrea Huber, the IAPB’s Head. “But justice in Belarus won’t prevail without continued international pressure and attention.”

The reporting period saw intensified repression by Belarusian authorities:

• 2,958 politically motivated arrests and trials were documented by the Human Rights Centre Viasna.
• 1,205 political prisoners remained in custody, including prominent human rights defenders.
• Security forces targeted past protesters to instil fear ahead of the elections.
• 511 people were added to the ‘extremist’ list, and 19 organisations were labelled ‘extremist’.
• Two deaths in custody and inhumane detention conditions were reported.
• Detainees, including women, faced threats of sexual violence, and separation from their children.
• Press freedom and legal representation were severely curtailed, with 41 journalists imprisoned and at least five lawyers disbarred.

The regime’s crackdown extended beyond Belarus’s borders. 24 trials in absentia were recorded, and a February 2025 amendment to the Criminal Code broadened their scope, raising serious human rights concerns. Surveillance of expatriates involved in opposition activities also increased.

“In response, the IAPB continued its vital evidence-gathering and accountability work”, noted Pavel Sapelko, representative from Viasna, IAPB’s co-lead organisation. “Seventy-six new testimonies were collected in the last six months, adding to the 2,775 in its closed-source database.”

Over 30,000 witness-related documents and 1.5 million open-source records have been collected by the IAPB so far, ready to support judicial investigations. Linkage evidence analysis continues to trace chains of command linking high-ranking officials to crimes committed by subordinates.

The violations documented include physical and psychological ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, potentially unlawful killings, inhumane detention conditions, and violations of due process rights and other fundamental rights.

“The IAPB also remains dedicated to support survivors”, said Viktoria Fedorova, representative of the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, IAPB’s co-lead. “Mental health and psychosocial support were extended to 88 more survivors during the reporting period, reinforcing our commitment to a survivor-centred approach.”

As part of its work to support national and international accountability efforts, the IAPB filed a submission in January 2025, following Lithuania’s referral of the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court, addressing potential crimes against humanity in Belarus. It also assisted prosecutors in two jurisdictions, bringing its total submissions to nine across five countries, and deepen its cooperation with the UN Group of Independent Experts on Human Rights in Belarus (GIEB), with over 1,500 files shared.

About the IAPB:

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), created in March 2021, is a consortium of Belarusian and international NGOs that collects, consolidates, verifies, and preserves evidence of gross human rights violations allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

For more information, please contact: Andrea Huber, IAPB’s Head, on anhu@dignity.dk.

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) has submitted evidence and legal analyses to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to inform its preliminary examination into whether it has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes against humanity, including deportation, persecution, and other inhumane acts, committed by Belarusian senior officials since 1 May 2020.

The IAPB Communication, submitted on 31 January 2025, presents factual and legal analyses of evidence gathered by the IAPB through interviews with witnesses and victims as well as open-source materials available in the IAPB’s collection. It follows Lithuania’s referral of the situation in Belarus to the ICC Prosecutor on 30 September 2024, which 13 human rights organisations, including the IAPB, called on other ICC State Parties to join.

“The referral by Lithuania to the ICC marks an important milestone in the path to justice for victims of crimes against humanity in Belarus,” said Andrea Huber, Head of the IAPB. “Thanks to the resilience and courage of Belarusian victims and human rights defenders, and an IAPB team determined to make a difference we were able to provide substantive information and evidence to inform the examination of the ICC Prosecutor.”

The IAPB’s Communication based on Article 15(2) of the Rome Statute comprises factual findings, including on civilian protests and state response, ill-treatment during protests, arrests, house searches and in detention, other fundamental rights violations, forced civilian departures from Belarus, and human rights violations after departure from Belarus. Legal analysis on jurisdictional issues, the underlying acts of alleged crimes against humanity and the admissibility of the case were also submitted alongside relevant annexes on detention facilities and state structures in Belarus.

The IAPB, a consortium of Belarusian and international NGOs created in 2021, has been collecting, consolidating, verifying and preserving evidence of gross violations of human rights constituting crimes under international law allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities in the run-up of the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath. The IAPB’s database contains over 29,000 documents related to 2,600 Interviewees and over one million of archived open-source records.

In addition to this Communication to the ICC, the IAPB has provided evidence, information and analytical products to five States, UN accountability mechanisms and the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, and has collaborated with lawyers and civil society organisations with the aim of holding perpetrators of international crimes accountable and securing justice and redress for Belarusian survivors.

“In addition to a possible investigation by the International Criminal Court, there remains a pressing need to combat impunity also through national investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction to ensure that justice is served,” said Huber.  “The Accountability Platform stands ready to provide evidence and analysis to national prosecutors who investigate international criminal law violations in Belarus.”

For more information, please contact: Andrea Huber, IAPB’s Head, on iapb@dignity.dk.

Widescale political repression and the suppression of dissent persist in Belarus, but new opportunities for advancing accountability for international crimes committed since 2020 have emerged, most notably with the referral by the Lithuanian government of the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court (ICC), notes the IAPB in its latest progress report.

“The pressing need to combat impunity for serious international crimes in Belarus remains,” said Andrea Huber, IAPB’s Head. “Lithuania’s referral of the situation in Belarus to the ICC is an important first step towards holding some perpetrators accountable for some crimes. We hope other states will support these efforts by joining this referral or undertaking their own investigations into crimes not covered by it, so that justice is served for all crimes committed. The IAPB is ready to assist with evidence adhering to criminal justice standards that we have been collecting since 2021.”

Since 2020, the number of political prisoners has remained high, with 1,325 political prisoners in detention as of 29 September 2024, including Alex Bialiatski, the founder of Viasna, one of IAPB’s co-lead organisations. Political prisoners are reported to be subject to a punitive prison regime, held in isolation cells, deprived of access to medical care, and often held incommunicado – without access to family or lawyers. Authorities have also continued to use “anti-extremist laws” to stifle the work of human rights organisations.

Belarus’ lack of compliance with its international human rights obligations was exposed further during the reporting period, with the UN Committee against Torture finding that “torture is a systematic practice in Belarus”, and the European Parliament adopting a resolution in September expressing concern about some 300,000 individuals having been forced to leave the country since 2020 and the persecution they continue to face in exile.

Despite the stark human rights situation in Belarus, the report highlights steps taken by the IAPB to ensure that the serious international crimes committed by the Belarusian authorities are documented and that evidence is made available to investigating and prosecuting authorities, adhering to criminal justice standards.

In doing so, the IAPB has continued to grow its collection of information, evidence and analysis. From April to September 2024, it collected information from 105 survivors/witnesses, bringing the total number of interviews to 2,637 and the collection to 29,492 documents in its close-source collection.

During the reporting period, the IAPB received three further requests for assistance from state authorities for potential investigations into alleged international crimes committed in Belarus, bringing the number of requests up to eight requests from five States.

The IAPB, alongside other organisations, has encouraged other States Parties of the ICC to join the referral by the Lithuanian government of the situation in Belarus to the ICC and will provide evidence to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC in its preliminary examination.

Given that the referral, if accepted, would only cover some of the crimes committed in Belarus (crimes against humanity, including deportation, persecution, and other inhumane acts), the IAPB has urged national prosecution authorities to continue investigating and prosecuting other international crimes committed in Belarus, such as torture, gender-based violence and unlawful detention.

The IAPB will also provide information to the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus (GIEB), a new investigative body established in April by the UN Human Rights Council.

About the IAPB:

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), created in March 2021, is a consortium of Belarusian and international NGOs that collects, consolidates, verifies, and preserves evidence of gross human rights violations allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

The IAPB supports investigations of national prosecutors and international accountability bodies by providing access to the collected evidence and analytical products. Since its establishment, the IAPB has received eight requests for assistance from five different states, four requests for information from the UN Examination of the human rights situation in Belarus of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), one from the OSCE Moscow Mechanism Rapporteur, as well as several requests from civil society organisations and lawyers working towards the investigation of crimes committed in Belarus.

For more information, please contact: Andrea Huber, IAPB’s Head, on anhu@dignity.dk.

Download the progress report

Thirteen leading human rights organisations, including the International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), have published an open letter, calling on State Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support and join Lithuania’s referral to the ICC to investigate alleged crimes against humanity in Belarus.

The signatories are: DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Human Constanta, The Human Rights Center Viasna, International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Norwegian Helsinki Committee, World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and REDRESS.

“Lithuania’s referral of the situation in Belarus to the ICC is an important step towards ending impunity, and by joining it, other States would strengthen it, as we saw in the Ukraine and Venezuela situations,” said Andrea Huber, Head of the IAPB. “A group referral would indicate that other States are willing to provide the Court with relevant assistance that could be crucial to the current or any future investigation, and send a united message that the international community will not tolerate impunity for such crimes.”

While Belarus is not an ICC State Party, the ICC can exercise its jurisdiction where at least part of the conduct takes place in the territory of a State Party. The investigations initiated by the ICC into possible crimes against humanity against the Rohingya population in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017 established a precedent to this end.

According to information gathered by the IAPB, Belarusians fleeing the ongoing campaign of violence and repression in Belarus, have been dispersed to over 25 ICC State Parties, and these States could also join the referral. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) estimates that up to 300,000 individuals have been forced to flee Belarus due to a concerted campaign of violence and repression intentionally directed against those opposing the government or perceived as opposing it.

In its referral on 30 September 2024, the Lithuanian government requested the ICC to examine whether it had jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes against humanity committed by Belarusian senior officials since 1 May 2020, including deportation, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Under the Rome Statute, deportation or forcible transfer of population constitutes a crime against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population. As set out in Lithuanian’s referral, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged crimes amount to crimes against humanity, and to a “widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population, pursuant to a state policy to eliminate opposition and dissent”.

The ICC Prosecutor will conduct a preliminary examination to assess Lithuania’s request to determine whether the alleged crimes fall within the ICC jurisdiction and if there is a reasonable basis to proceed with a full investigation.

“We encourage ICC State Parties to join the referral. It would demonstrate support for victims of human rights violations, and Belarusian human rights defenders who are currently imprisoned,” said Pavel Sapelko, representative from Viasna, IAPB’s co-lead organisation, whose founder, Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and other members remain in prison under politically motivated charges. “It would also support the efforts of civil society organisations and human rights defenders who are documenting these crimes in Belarus.”

The open letter also highlights the pressing need for continued efforts to combat impunity through national investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction to ensure that justice is served for crimes not subject to the present Lithuanian’s referral.

“Evidence suggests that the Belarusian regime may have committed other international crimes, which are not part of the present referral, such as torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and enforced disappearance,” said Viktoria Fedorova, representative of the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, IAPB’s co-lead. “In addition to supporting Lithuania’s referral, we urge States to continue their national efforts in securing accountability in relation to these crimes.”

The IAPB will make available relevant evidence and information collected in support of the Prosecutor of the ICC’s preliminary investigation, and to States willing to pursue a referral.

For more information, contact Andrea Huber, IAPB’s Head, on anhu@dignity.dk.

About the IAPB:

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), created in March 2021, is a consortium of Belarusian and international NGOs that collects, consolidates, verifies, and preserves evidence of gross human rights violations allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

The IAPB supports investigations of national prosecutors and international accountability bodies by providing access to the collected evidence and analytical products. Since its establishment, the IAPB has received eight requests for assistance from five different states, four requests for information from the UN Examination of the human rights situation in Belarus of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), one from the OSCE Moscow Mechanism Rapporteur, as well as several requests from civil society organisations and lawyers working towards the investigation of crimes committed in Belarus.

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB) welcomes the referral of the situation in Belarus to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Government of Lithuania on 30 September 2024.

“The referral marks a significant first step towards investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed by the government of Belarus since May 2020”, says Andrea Huber, Head of the IAPB.  “But we must also acknowledge that this referral, if accepted, would cover only some of the crimes committed in Belarus.”

With its referral, the Lithuanian government requests the ICC to examine whether it has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity, including deportation, persecution, and other inhumane acts, committed by Belarusian senior officials since 1 May 2020.

According to Article 14 of the Rome Statute, as an ICC member state Lithuania can submit the referral because part of these crimes occurred on Lithuanian territory, bringing them within the Court’s jurisdiction. This builds on a previous ICC decision to accept jurisdiction over a non-ICC member state in the context of deportation (the Myanmar/Bangladesh situation).

According to the Lithuanian government in its statement of 30 September, “the [Belarusian] regime has forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of lawful residents of Belarus to the territories of neighbouring Lithuania, and other States Parties (…), without grounds permitted under international law.”

“The IAPB has supported the efforts of criminal justice authorities to address the international crimes committed in Belarus. We hope that the ICC will assume jurisdiction and open an investigation, and we look forward to providing all available evidence to the ICC”, says Viktoria Fedorova, representative of the International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus, IAPB’s co-lead.

“Torture, gender-based violence, unlawful detention and other crimes must not go unpunished. Hence, we strongly encourage national prosecution authorities to continue investigating and prosecuting international crimes committed in Belarus”, says Andrea Huber.

Pavel Sapelko from Viasna, another IAPB co-lead, also stresses the need for additional steps.

”In order to enable accountability of crimes committed against Belarusians, Viasna and International Committee have interviewed over 2,500 victims and witnesses about events between 2020 and 2024”, Pavel Sapelko says and continues:

“These witness statements, alongside open-source information, has been collected to a criminal law standard and can be made available to prosecution authorities willing to help us counter the impunity of Belarusian perpetrators for grave human rights violations and international crimes.”

About the IAPB:

The International Accountability Platform for Belarus (IAPB), created in March 2021, is a consortium of Belarusian and international NGOs that collects, consolidates, verifies, and preserves evidence of gross human rights violations allegedly committed by Belarusian authorities and others in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.

The IAPB supports investigations of national prosecutors and international accountability bodies by providing access to the collected evidence and analytical products.

Since its establishment, the IAPB has received eight requests for assistance from five different states, four requests for information from the UN Examination of the human rights situation in Belarus of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), one from the OSCE Moscow Mechanism Rapporteur, as well as several requests from civil society organisations and lawyers working towards the investigation of crimes committed in Belarus.