Lithuania refers Belarusian leader, government officials to ICC

Lithuania has formally referred Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and members of his government to the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing them of committing crimes against humanity by forcing Belarusian citizens to flee the country.

The referral, submitted on May 19, includes allegations against Lukashenko, security officials, military officers, and police forces. Lithuania claims there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that the Belarusian authorities have engaged in “deportation, persecution and other inhumane acts” targeting civilians for more than four years, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media. 

According to the Lithuanian government, these actions have resulted in the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Belarusian residents to neighbouring countries, including Lithuania and other states that are parties to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.

The Lithuanian government said in its referral that this “amounts to a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population.”. It added that the Belarusian regime’s objective was “to rid itself, by any means, of all critics and opponents in order to consolidate the regime’s authoritarian hold on power.” The statement emphasised that “all direct perpetrators, their commanders and superiors, were clearly aware of the attack.”

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed receipt of the referral and announced that his office would conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether to proceed with a case.

By Sabina Mammadli