Editing Alexander Lukashenko (section)

===Political repression===
==== Torture, sexual abuse and other forms of repression ====
{{See also|Human rights issues related to the suppression of the 2020 Belarusian protests|List of deaths related to the 2020 Belarusian protests}}
On 1 September 2020, the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] (OHCHR) declared that its experts received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people who were arrested during the [[2020–2021 Belarusian protests|protests following the presidential election]]. The experts also received reports of violence against women and children, including sexual abuse and rape with rubber batons.<ref name="ohchr.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26199&LangID=E |title=UN human rights experts: Belarus must stop torturing protesters and prevent enforced disappearances |date=1 September 2020 |access-date=1 September 2020 |website=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928194821/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26199&LangID=E |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the OHCHR, both male and female detainees were subjected to rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence. Medical records reviewed by OHCHR indicate lesions and other injuries to the male genitalia associated with forcible twisting and rape. [[psychological abuse|Psychological violence]], including threats of rape, was also used against detainees.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2022/03/interactive-dialogue-high-commissioners-report-belarus |title=Interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner's report on Belarus |date=17 March 2022 |access-date= |website=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]] |archive-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317140035/https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2022/03/interactive-dialogue-high-commissioners-report-belarus |url-status=live }}</ref>

At least three detainees suffered injuries indicative of [[sexual violence]] in [[Okrestina|Okrestino]] prison in [[Minsk]] or on the way there. The victims were hospitalized with intramuscular bleeding of the rectum, anal fissure and bleeding, and damage to the mucous membrane of the rectum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boell.de/de/2020/10/29/das-verpruegelte-minsk|title=Das verprügelte Minsk|website=Boell.de|access-date=3 March 2022|archive-date=27 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027044215/https://www.boell.de/de/2020/10/29/das-verpruegelte-minsk|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an interview from September 2020 Lukashenko claimed that detainees faked their bruises, saying, "Some of the girls there had their butts painted in blue".<ref>{{cite news | title=Lukashenko blames Americans and drunks for Belarus protests | date=9 September 2020 | work=[[MSN]] | url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/lukashenko-blames-americans-and-drunks-for-belarus-protests/vp-BB18ShbU | access-date=20 May 2021 | archive-date=20 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520124755/https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/lukashenko-blames-americans-and-drunks-for-belarus-protests/vp-BB18ShbU | url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2021, however, Lukashenko confirmed in an interview to the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] that people were beaten in Okrestino, saying: "OK, OK, I admit it, I admit it. People were beaten in the [[Okrestina|Okrestina Detention Centre]]. But there were [[militsiya (Belarus)|police]] beaten up too and you didn't show this."<ref>{{cite news | title=Belarus's Lukashenko tells BBC: We may have helped migrants into EU | date=19 November 2021 | work=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59343815 | access-date=20 November 2021 | archive-date=20 November 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120081442/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59343815 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2021, an audio recording was released in which the commander of internal troops and deputy interior minister of Belarus [[Mikalai Karpiankou]] tells security forces that they can cripple, maim and kill protesters in order to make them understand their actions. This, he says, is justified because anyone who takes to the streets is participating in a kind of guerrilla warfare. In addition, he discussed the establishment of camps, surrounded by barbed wire, where protesters will be detained until the situation calms down. A spokeswoman for the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Belarus)|Interior Ministry]] stamped the audio file as a fake.<ref>{{cite news | title=Belarus authorities criticised over tape discussing internment camps for protesters | date=25 January 2021 | work=[[Reuters]] | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election-recording-idUKKBN29K27I | access-date=24 February 2021 | archive-date=2 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502040124/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election-recording-idUKKBN29K27I | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title='Use your weapon' Leaked recording implicates Lukashenko in authorizing use of lethal force against Belarusian protesters | date=25 January 2021 | work=[[Meduza]] | url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/01/15/use-your-weapon | access-date=24 February 2021 | archive-date=26 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226133703/https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/01/15/use-your-weapon | url-status=live }}</ref>

However, a phonoscopic examination of the audio recording confirmed that the voice on the recording belongs to Karpiankou.<ref>{{cite news | title=Кто говорил про "лагерь для острокопытных" на слитой аудиозаписи? Мы получили результаты экспертизы | date=25 January 2021 | work=Tut.By | url=https://news.tut.by/society/717286.html | access-date=24 February 2021 | archive-date=2 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202163122/https://news.tut.by/society/717286.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]] expressed its concern about the remarks.<ref>{{cite news | title=OSCE demanding release of political prisoners in Belarus | date=3 February 2021 | work=[[Belsat]] | url=https://belsat.eu/en/news/03-02-2021-osce-demanding-release-of-political-prisoners-in-belarus/ | access-date=24 February 2021 | archive-date=27 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227014551/https://belsat.eu/en/news/03-02-2021-osce-demanding-release-of-political-prisoners-in-belarus/ | url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]], such a camp was indeed used near the town of [[Slutsk]] in the days from 13 to 15 August 2020. Many of those detained there are said to have been brought from the Okrestina prison in [[Minsk]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Detained Belarusian Protesters Describe August Stay In Internment Camp | date=29 January 2021 | work=[[Radio Liberty]] | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/31076165.html | access-date=24 February 2021 | archive-date=24 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224071408/https://www.rferl.org/a/31076165.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2023, Lukashenko signed a law which allows to use [[capital punishment]] against officials and soldiers convicted of high [[treason]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Belarus approves death penalty for officials convicted of high treason |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-approves-death-penalty-officials-convicted-high-treason-2023-03-09/ |website=[[Reuters]] |access-date=6 February 2024 |archive-date=25 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230725051228/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-approves-death-penalty-officials-convicted-high-treason-2023-03-09/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Forced disappearances ====
[[File:Zniknąć 03 - Czarownik ciągnie za uszy.jpg|thumb|A demonstration in [[Warsaw]] in 2004, raising awareness about the disappearances of opposition activists in Belarus]]
In 1999 opposition leaders [[Yury Zacharanka]] and [[Viktar Hanchar]] together with his business associate [[Anatol Krasouski]] disappeared. Hanchar and Krasouski disappeared the same day of a broadcast on state television in which President Alexander Lukashenko ordered the chiefs of his security services to crack down on "opposition scum." Although the [[State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus]] (KGB) had them under constant surveillance, the official investigation announced that the case could not be solved. The investigation of the disappearance of journalist [[Dzmitry Zavadski]] in 2000 has also yielded no results. Copies of a report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which linked senior Belarusian officials to the cases of disappearances, were confiscated.<ref>{{cite news |title=16 Years of Silence: Enforced Disappearances in Belarus Must Be Investigated |url=http://blog.amnestyusa.org/europe/16-years-of-silence-enforced-disappearances-in-belarus-must-be-investigated/ |newspaper=[[Amnesty International]] |date=18 September 2015 |access-date=30 August 2020 |archive-date=21 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921193101/http://blog.amnestyusa.org/europe/16-years-of-silence-enforced-disappearances-in-belarus-must-be-investigated/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2004, the [[European Union]] and the [[United States]] issued travel bans for five Belarusian officials suspected in being involved in the kidnapping of Zacharanka: Interior Affairs Minister [[Vladimir V. Naumov|Vladimir Naumov]], Prosecutor General [[Viktor Sheiman]], Minister for Sports and Tourism Yuri Sivakov, and Colonel [[Dmitri Pavlichenko]] from the Belarus Interior Ministry.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/28-09-2004/7115-nongrata-0/ |title=USA, EU declare Belarus officials personas non grata |publisher=[[Pravda]] |date=28 September 2008 |access-date=3 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121251/http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/28-09-2004/7115-nongrata-0/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2019, [[Deutsche Welle]] published a documentary film in which Yury Garavski, a former member of a special unit of the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Belarus)|Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs]], confirmed that it was his unit which had arrested, taken away and murdered Zecharanka and that they later did the same with Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krassouski.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-how-death-squads-targeted-opposition-politicians/a-51685204|title=Belarus: How death squads targeted opposition politicians|last1=Trippe|first1=Christian F.|last2=Sotnik|first2=Ekaterina|date=16 December 2019|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|language=en|access-date=18 November 2020|archive-date=18 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118232619/https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-how-death-squads-targeted-opposition-politicians/a-51685204|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Assassination plans on dissidents abroad ====
On 4 January 2021, the [[EU Observer]] reported that new evidence, including documents and audio recordings, provide that Belarusian secret services planned to murder dissidents abroad.<ref name="euobserver.com">{{Cite web|title=[Investigation] Exclusive: Lukashenko plotted murders in Germany|url=https://euobserver.com/foreign/150486|access-date=11 January 2021|website=EUobserver|date=4 January 2021 |language=en|archive-date=13 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113121946/https://euobserver.com/foreign/150486|url-status=live}}</ref> An audio file, allegedly being a recording from a bugged meeting in 2012, reveals [[Vadim Zaitsev]], the [[State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus|KGB]] chairman at the time, discussing the murder plot with two officers from the KGB's [[Alpha Group (Belarus)|Alpha Group]], an elite counter-terrorism unit. Translated from Russian, one of the voices in the recording says, "We should be working with [[Pavel Sheremet|Sheremet]], who is a massive pain in the arse [inaudible]. We'll plant [a bomb] and so on and this fucking rat will be taken down in fucking pieces, legs in one direction, arms in the other direction. If everything [looks like] natural causes, it won't get into people's minds the same way."<ref name="euobserver.com"/> In addition to planting a bomb, they also discuss poisoning Sheremet.

====Allegations of state-sponsored hijacking====
On 23 May 2021, Lukashenko personally ordered [[Ryanair Flight 4978]] en route from [[Athens]] to [[Vilnius]], carrying the opposition journalist [[Roman Protasevich]], to land in [[Belarus]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 May 2021|title=Plane carrying Belarusian opposition figure ordered to divert to Minsk by President Alexander Lukashenko|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-24/plane-carrying-opposition-figure-diverted-to-belarus/100159524|url-status=live|access-date=23 July 2021|website=Abc.net.au|language=en-AU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523173025/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-24/plane-carrying-opposition-figure-diverted-to-belarus/100159524 |archive-date=23 May 2021 }}</ref> The flight was forced to land at [[Minsk International Airport]] shortly before it reached the Lithuanian border after Belarusian air traffic control conveyed a report of explosives on board the plane. The flight was escorted by a [[Belarusian Air Force]] [[MiG-29]] fighter jet. Belarusian authorities said no explosives were found and arrested Protasevich, who was placed in a list of "individuals involved in terrorist activity" the previous year for his role in the anti-government protests and incitement to [[Public disorder]]. The move was condemned by opposition figures, with Tsikhanouskaya saying that Protasevich "faces the death penalty" in Belarus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-forces-vilnius-bound-ryanair-plane-land-detain-blogger-2021-05-23/|title=Belarus forces Ryanair plane bound for Vilnius to land, infuriating Lithuania|website=Reuters.com|date=23 May 2021|access-date=23 May 2021|archive-date=24 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524000905/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/belarus-forces-vilnius-bound-ryanair-plane-land-detain-blogger-2021-05-23/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57219860|title=Belarus 'diverts Ryanair flight to arrest journalist', says opposition|website=BBC News|date=23 May 2021|access-date=23 May 2021|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523174629/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57219860|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-diverts-plane-to-arrest-journalist-says-opposition/a-57635240|title=Belarus diverts plane to arrest journalist, says opposition|website=Dw.com|date=23 May 2021|access-date=23 May 2021|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523172128/https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-diverts-plane-to-arrest-journalist-says-opposition/a-57635240|url-status=live}}</ref>