On Sunday, Roman Protasevich was flying on a Ryanair jet from Greece to Lithuania which was forcibly diverted to the Belarusian capital Minsk, “apparently underneath false pretenses and with the specific objective of capturing him”, stated OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville.
The style, by means of risk of navy pressure, by which Mr. Protasevich was kidnapped from the jurisdiction of one other State and introduced inside that of Belarus, “was tantamount to a rare rendition”, he added.
Mr. Colville stated that such blatant abuse of energy towards a journalist for exercising his rights which might be protected underneath worldwide regulation merited the strongest condemnation attainable.
An ‘astonishing episode’
Calling for his rapid launch, the spokesperson described Mr. Protasevich’s detention and the circumstances surrounding it as an “astonishing episode” that constitutes a brand new part within the nation’s marketing campaign of repression towards journalists and civil society basically.
He defined that penalizing a journalist only for being essential of the federal government went towards freedom of expression and is a violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“Below human rights regulation, the mere act of organizing a peaceable meeting ought to by no means be criminalized underneath home legal guidelines, together with counterterrorism legal guidelines, and the arrest or detention of somebody as punishment for the professional train of their rights to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of meeting, is taken into account arbitrary”, Mr. Colville underscored.
He added that the arbitrary arrest is an indication of a particularly worrying escalation within the crackdown of dissenting voices, not simply of journalists but in addition of Belarusian human rights defenders and different civil society actors, together with these dwelling overseas.
The spokesperson emphasised as properly that the compelled touchdown of the Ryanair aircraft terrorized passengers on board and uncovered them to pointless hazard, in violation of their human rights.
Fears of torture
Mr. Colville stated OHCHR feared for the dissident journalist’s security and is looking for assurances that he’s being handled humanely and won’t be subjected to ill-treatment or torture.
“His look on state TV final night time was not reassuring, given the obvious bruising to his face, and the sturdy chance that his look was not voluntary, stated the OHCHR official, and that the “confession” had been underneath duress.
“Such compelled confessions are prohibited underneath the Convention against Torture”, stated Mr. Colville, briefing reporters in Geneva. The priority extends additionally to Mr. Protasevich’s girlfriend, Sofia Sapaga, who has additionally reportedly been arbitrarily arrested.
