Belarusian HR group reports death of political prisoner Dmitriy Schlethauer amid nationwide deterioration in human rights – JURIST

The Viasna Human Rights Center, one of the oldest human rights groups in Belarus, reported on Friday that political prisoner Dmitri Schlethauer died on October 11, 2024, less than a month after his transfer to the Mogilev penal colony in eastern Belarus. The cause of death is unknown.

According to Viasna, a trial took place in Brest at which Schlethauer was convicted of espionage and aiding and abetting extremist activities under Article 358 and Part 1 of Article 361-4 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, respectively. The court sentenced Schlethauer in the first instance to a prison sentence of twelve years. Schlethauer's appeal was heard behind closed doors on August 30, 2024 and dismissed.

According to exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Schlethauer's death marks the seventh instance of a political prisoner who dies in custody. At least two other political prisoners accused of espionage are currently in custody, including Polish citizen Tomasz Bjaroza and Ukrainian citizen Andrei Szmai. Tsikhanouskaya called for urgent international action to “prevent further deaths.”

Ales Bialiatski, the founder of Viasna and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is also currently in prison for financing the 2020 protests and smuggling cash through an organized group.

The report comes against the backdrop of the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus. More than 1,000 protesters have been detained since the 2020 presidential election, which sparked mass protests in Belarus. The United Nations found the persecution in Belarus during and after the election to be a potential crime against humanity. Human rights organizations have warned of systematic repression of activists and human rights lawyers and condemned crackdowns on freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary.

According to Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained. According to Article 10, all persons deprived of their liberty must be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of human beings. In 2022, Belarus withdrew from the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), effectively depriving victims of human rights violations of the right to assert their claims before the Human Rights Committee.