GENEVA: United Nations human rights experts said on Tuesday they had received reports of hundreds of cases of torture, beatings and mistreatment of anti-government protesters by police in Belarus, and they urged the authorities to put a halt to any such abuse.
The experts said in a statement that 6,700 people had been detained in recent weeks in protests, including journalists and passers-by who were arbitrarily arrested and hastily sentenced.
“We are extremely alarmed at the hundreds of allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in police custody,” they said in a joint statement.
The experts included the U.N. global torture investigator Nils Melzer and the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus Anais Marin. The statement did not specify the sources of the reports.
The Belarus government has denied abusing detainees.
The interior ministry declined comment on the latest allegations and referred questions to the state’s Investigative Committee, which could not be reached for comment.
Reuters was trying to reach Belarus officials to comment on the latest accusations.
The U.N. experts said they had received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people in custody since a disputed presidential election last month which led to mass protests against President Alexander Lukashenko.
Violence against women and children, including sexual abuse and rape with rubber batons, had also been reported, the U.N. experts said.
“Any violation of the non-derogable prohibition of torture and ill-treatment must be prosecuted and punished,” they said.
The experts urged Belarusian authorities to uphold fundamental legal safeguards including the immediate registration of detainees, judicial oversight of their cases and notification of their families. This was to prevent “enforced disappearances”, when authorities deny people are detained.
Lukashenko faces the biggest challenge of his 26-year rule since claiming victory in an election last month that opponents say was rigged. He denies electoral fraud and shows no sign of backing down despite the threat of Western sanctions.
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