UN Special Rapporteur informed about torture of Haidukou

The initiative Human Rights Activists against Torture sent an urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur.

The human rights activists report about the possible use of torture against opposition activist Andrei Haidukou, who was placed in a detention facility of the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) on suspicion of violating article 356 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (treason).

The authors of the appeal point out flagrant facts of denying access of a lawyer to the arrested man in the KGB jail that, in their view, can be a sign of the use of torture. The human rights activists ask the Special Rapporteur to demand explanations of the Belarusian authorities and recommend the state to give the lawyer the opportunity to see his client immediately.

“We have serious grounds to suppose that Haidukou is being tortured. Candidates for presidency in Belarus and members of their teams Andrei Sannikov, Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, Mikalai Statkevich, Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, Ales Mikhalevich, Uladzimir Kobets and others said that they had been tortured in the KGB jail in similar conditions (when lawyers were denied access to them). Uladzislau Kavalyou, the man executed in the metro bombing case, also reported about tortures. The authorities failed to carry out a proper inquiry over the torture reports. None of the officials engaged in illegal actions was brought to responsibility. Being human rights activists, we cannot just wait and hope for honesty of officers of the KGB jail. It is a widely known fact that impunity leads to lawlessness,” said Pavel Levinau, a human rights defender from Vitebsk.