It Has Been One Year Since We Received the Last Letter From Political Prisoner and Attorney Maxim Znak

As we previously noted, February 8th marked one year since Belarus renounced the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Today, we face a full year without any news about Maxim Znak, a politically imprisoned attorney sentenced to 10 years in prison for fulfilling his professional responsibilities.

International law strictly prohibits the incommunicado detention of persons deprived of their liberty. Extended periods of such detention can lead to conditions conducive to torture and constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in themselves. This practice is prohibited under UN General Assembly Resolution 43/173 of December 9, 1988, and Article 62 of the Belarusian Constitution.

The Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers demands an immediate end to the torture of Maxim Znak and the restoration of his fundamental rights to communication, access to lawyer, and phone calls. This call to action was supported by the Lithuanian, Swedish, Warsaw, and German Bar Associations, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), Lawyers for Lawyers, and the International Observatory of Lawyers.