Assistance in bringing the Lukashenko’s regime to justice for crimes against humanity against the Belarusian people and for war crimes in Ukraine was discussed during a meeting between the Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management Pavel Latushka with the Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden to the OSCE Ludwig Bontell and diplomats of the Swedish mission in Vienna.
Pavel Latushka informed the Swedish diplomats about the work of the institutions of the democratic forces of Belarus, preparations for the election cycle in 2025, and Lukashenko's role in the aggression against Ukraine.
Particular attention during the meeting was paid to possible bilateral contacts on organizing consultations with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the use of international instruments to bring Lukashenko and his accomplices to international criminal responsibility for the most serious international crimes, including crimes against humanity against the Belarusian people and war crimes in Ukraine.
Pavel Latushka provided detailed information on the activities of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and the National Anti-Crisis Management in collecting evidence on the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus and transferring evidence to the International Criminal Court, as well as on compiling materials and prospects for using international law instruments to hold Lukashenko accountable for crimes against humanity. Separately, they discussed Lukashenko's active role in continuing to assist Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the importance of the international community's response to these criminal actions of Lukashenko, which violate the UN Charter.
The Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden to the OSCE emphasized that Sweden stands on the side of the democratic forces of Belarus, advocates for intensifying cooperation with democratic institutions created by Belarusian society, and does not consider it possible to hold any high-level or other meetings with representatives of the Lukashenko’s regime.
Pavel Latusha also informed about the situation related to the expulsion of two Belarusian citizens from Sweden and emphasized the importance of preventing actions that could lead to tragic consequences for Belarusian citizens who participated in the protests, due to the fact that Belarus has no justice system at all and mass repressions have been launched against representatives of society who disagree with the actions of the Lukashenko’s regime. As a first step to prevent such actions in the future, Pavel Latushka asked to convey to the Swedish Foreign Ministry and the Swedish Migration Agency a proposal to consider the possibility of introducing a moratorium on the deportation of Belarusian citizens from Sweden to Belarus. Pavel Latushka noted that these precedents influence the perception by Belarusians of the reality of support from democratic countries for representatives of Belarusian society who continue to fight the Lukashenko’s regime.
Pavel Latushka thanked the Swedish representative for the fact that the Deputy Ambassador of Sweden was present at the hearing of Andrey Gnet's case in the Belgrade court and asked for support for efforts aimed at the release of Andrey Gnet.
An agreement was reached to continue consultations both within the OSCE and at the bilateral level.
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