By Andrius Sytas and Mark Trevelyan
VILNIUS (Reuters) -The International Criminal Court chief prosecutor said on Monday he would launch a preliminary inquiry against Belarus over alleged crimes against humanity under the rule of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Karim Khan spoke after a referral seeking an investigation from Lithuania, an ICC member state and neighbour of Belarus, which has been ruled since 1994 by Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Lithuanian justice ministry said earlier in the day it was asking the ICC “to open an investigation… into the crimes against humanity committed by Lukashenko’s regime – forced deportation, persecution of persons and other cruel behaviour which is contrary to the main norms of international law”.
Lukashenko’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Khan said in a statement: “I can confirm that my office will conduct a preliminary examination to examine the request within the limits of the ICC jurisdiction, and to determine (…) if there is a reasonable basis to proceed with the opening of an investigation.”A preliminary examination is the first step to a full-fledged investigation of alleged crimes by the ICC that could eventually lead to arrest warrants and ultimately a trial.
Lithuania’s action drew immediate support from exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is based in the Baltic state. Vilnius recognises her, not Lukashenko, as the legitimate leader of Belarus.
“The crimes committed by this regime, from forced deportations to illegal arrests and torture, cannot go unpunished. Lithuania’s courage gives us hope that the world is finally holding the regime accountable for its atrocities,” Tsikhanouskaya said in a statement.
She said that about 300,000 Belarusians had been forced to flee the country, with every thirtieth resident of Belarus now living in exile.
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenko in a presidential election in August 2020 but fled the country after he was proclaimed the winner – a result that the opposition and Western governments denounced as fraudulent.
The election triggered mass protests that were crushed by Lukashenko’s security apparatus. Thousands of people were arrested, while others fled abroad, many via Lithuania.
Belarus is not a member of the ICC, but a court member can bring a case at the ICC involving alleged crimes that are partly committed on its own territory.
The Lithuanian statement said hundreds of thousands of Belarusians had sought humanitarian refuge in Lithuania and elsewhere in the European Union. Over 60,000 Belarusians were now living permanently in Lithuania, many of whom had “undergone or are still undergoing the pressure of the regime and its crimes”.
It said the forced deportation of people directly affected Lithuania’s security interests and obliged it to seek the involvement of the court.
According to the ICC prosecutor, the referral covers alleged deportation, persecution and inhumane acts committed in Belarus by its political and military leaders from April 2020 onwards.
Since the February 2022 start of the Ukraine war, which Russia launched partly from the territory of Belarus, the ICC has issued arrest warrants against Putin, his army chief of staff, former defence minister and children’s commissioner.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius and Mark Trevelyan in London; additional reporting by Stephanie Van Den Berg in The Hague; writing by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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