Reprisals against independent lawyers in Belarus must end, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today.
The ICJ calls on the Bar Association of Belarus, the Bar Association of Minsk, and the Ministry of Justice to cease the practice of the use of “re-certification” procedures, disciplinary proceedings, and disbarments as an effective means of reprisals against lawyers for defending the rights and interests of their clients.
“The multiple cases of disbarments or disqualifications of lawyers in Belarus, which have continued since the contested Presidential elections in 2020, are clearly intended to silence independent lawyers who act in accordance with their professional duties”, said Temur Shakirov, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme. “Such attacks on the legal profession have a chilling effect and deprive the profession of those lawyers who defend their clients’ human rights guaranteed under international human rights law”, he added.
In the latest case of apparent reprisal, on 27 January 2022, the Ministry of Justice declared Alexander Filanovich to be “incapable” of performing his duties as a lawyer due to “insufficient qualifications.” This decision comes after Alexander Filanovich did not pass certification by the Qualification Commission on 26 January 2022. He later announced via his Facebook page that his license would be revoked within a month. Alexander Filanovich previously served as a lawyer for Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen detained along with blogger Roman Protasevich in Minsk, after the Belarusian authorities forcibly landed a Ryanair plane flying from Greece to Lithuania.
The ICJ has previously expressed concern over the growing number of disciplinary cases in Belarus, including disbarments of lawyers, particularly those who have represented opposition members, activists, and political opposition. This included the decision to disbar lawyer Natalia Matskevich, who previously represented former presidential candidate Victor Babariko. The ICJ also spoke out regarding the disbarments of Dmitry Layevsky, Aleksey Telegin, Valery Zvyagintsev, Yekaterina Zheltonoga, Andrey Gashinsky, Andrey Mochalov, Mikhail Bondrachuk.
More recent examples of lawyers who have faced reprisals include Elizaveta Matveeva and Dmitry Lozovik, who were disbarred, having previously represented political activist Vladimir Matskevich; Irina Voronkova, disbarred in November 2021, who represented Eduard Babariko, the son of a former presidential candidate Viktor Babariko, and Natalya Vantsovich, denied re-certification in November 2021, who represented Olga Zolotar, a political activist. Lawyers Yevgeniy Pylchenko, Igor Patrashevich, Alexei Kerol, Sergei Ivanov, Natalya Alekseeva, and Alexander Belov were also disbarred or denied certification.
The ICJ stresses that the actions fly in the face of universal rule of law standards, including the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, specifically:
- Lawyers must be able to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference and must not face sanctions for discharging their duties in accordance with professional standards and ethics (Principle 16).
- Lawyers must not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions (Principle 18).
- When a disciplinary action must be taken against a lawyer, these procedures “shall be determined in accordance with the code of professional conduct and other recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession and in the light of these principles” (Principle 29).
The ICJ therefore repeats it call for the Bar Association of Belarus, the Bar Association of Minsk, and the Ministry of Justice to cease their use of disbarments, disciplinary proceedings, and certification procedures as tools of retaliation against the members of the legal profession.
Recent disbarments in Belarus:
- Elizaveta Matveeva had her license suspended by the Ministry of Justice and was expelled from the Minsk Bar Association for a disciplinary offense on 22 December 2021. The disciplinary offense was purportedly for her failure to appear at an extraordinary recertification hearing. Matveeva had previously attempted to challenge the recertification in court and the case was still pending at the time of the scheduled hearing. Matveeva previously represented political activists such as Vladimir Matskevich.
- Irina Voronkova had her license terminated by the Ministry of Justice on 25 November 2021. The revocation from the Ministry came after the Qualification Commission ruled that she was “insufficiently qualified” on 28 October 2021. Voronkova previously represented Eduard Babariko, the son of a former presidential candidate.
- Yevgeniy Pylchenko had his license terminated by the Ministry of Justice on 25 November 2021. Pylchenko previously represented Victor Babariko.
- Igor Petrashevich had his license terminated by the Ministry of Justice on 25 November 2021. This decision came after the Qualification Commission ruled that he was “insufficiently qualified” on 28 October 2021.
- Dmitry Lozovik had his license terminated by the Ministry of Justice on 25 November 2021 for “systematic failure to allocate funds in the form of contributions for the maintenance of the territorial Bar without reason.” Prior to these events, Lozovik’s home was searched by police, after which he left the country. Lozovik previously represented political activist Vladimir Matskevish.
- Natalya Vantsovich failed certification before the Qualification Commission on 25 November 2021 due to “insufficient qualifications.” As a result, on 23 December 2021, the Ministry terminated her license. Vantsovich previously represented political activist Olga Zolotar.
- Alexei Kerol was expelled from the Minsk Bar Association and had his license terminated by the Qualification Commission on 25 November 2021. The Qualification Commission revoked his license for “committing offenses incompatible with the title of a lawyer.”
- Sergei Ivanov was expelled from the Minsk Bar Association and had his license terminated by the Qualification Commission on 25 November 2021. The Qualification Commission revoked his license for “committing offenses incompatible with the title of a lawyer.”
- Natalya Alekseeva failed certification before the Qualification Commission on 25 November 2021 due to “insufficient qualifications.” As a result, on 23 December 2021, the Ministry terminated her license.
- Alexander Belov failed certification before the Qualification Commission 25 November 2021 due to “insufficient qualifications.” As a result, on 23 December 2021, the Ministry terminated his license.