ICC launches Lukashenko probe
Alexander Lukashenko (Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS)
The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation
into alleged crimes against humanity by the government of Belarus led by dictator
Alexander
Lukashenko, the ICC announced
on March 12.
The ICC prosecutor’s office said the probe was launched over alleged crimes that began after Belarus’s 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors say the actions include politically motivated deportations carried out as state policy.
“There is a reasonable basis to believe that the coercive acts leading to deportation constituted a course of conduct against actual or perceived opponents of the Government of Belarus, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State policy,” the statement said.
“The Office has concluded that the alleged crimes committed by the authorities were encouraged or approved by the highest levels of the Government.”
Because Belarus is not a party to the Rome Statute, prosecutors spent months determining whether the alleged acts fall within the court’s jurisdiction.
“The scope of the investigation covers transboundary crimes — any past and present allegations of crimes since 1 May 2020 in Belarus, where at least one element of the crime has been committed on the territory of Lithuania, in line with the parameters of the referral and the jurisdictional framework,” the ICC explains the decision to proceed with investigating the Lukashenko regime.
“As such, the new investigation includes crimes against humanity, such as deportation, and persecution through deportation against any identifiable group or collectivity on political grounds allegedly committed by the Belarusian authorities.”
On Sept. 11, 2025, Lukashenko pardoned 52 political
prisoners, including 14 foreign nationals, who had been held on charges
including espionage and participation in extremist or terrorist activities.
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