Tamara Siarhei: There's a "Back Door" to Lukashenka

Such a practice questions the legitimacy of decisions made by the authority.

Lawyer and human rights activist Tamara Siarhei tells Salidarnasts why she is not satisfied with the news that Lukashenka has "closed the case" about the murder within a day.

It will be recalled that in early February Lukashenka stated that during the report of the head of the State Forensic Examination Committee Andrei Shved.

- Lukashenka said a citizen came to him and asked to investigate the murder of his daughter. Why do I mention it? Because since 2007 the civil initiative "Against Lawlessness in Courts and Prosecutor's Office" has been trying to meet with the ruler.

We act within the law. Figuratively speaking, through the front door. And it turns out that there is, as they say, a back door!

I believe that the existence of it is unacceptable for a civilized state.

We have filed a collective statement more than 40 times. There was only one question. We asked Lukashenka to deal with the formal reply problem. It concerns not only courts and the Prosecutor's Office, but also the MIA, the State Forensic Examination Committee, the Ministry of Justice. The list is a long one.

That is, the formal reply issue is a great problem in the country: a citizen receives formal replies to his requests and questions, which are often just hushed up.

Activists of the civil initiative "Against Lawlessness in Courts and the Prosecutor's Office" are the people who are not capable of getting reasonable answers to their complaints. We require substantive replies, if they are given, the reliability of court decisions will become clear. That's why we can't get substantive replies.

Our collective addresses to Lukashenka are signed by tens and hundreds of people. We are trying to reach him using another legal right – the right to a peaceful action. We have repeatedly, perhaps about a dozen times, held various pickets. We have repeatedly taken the capital Freedom Square striving to reach Lukashenka, to meet with him and to tell about the formal reply problem.

As you can see, the ruler neither hears nor sees us, because we act within the limits of the law. I draw this conclusion on the latest events. Lukashenka accepts citizens who enter the back door.

I don't think that the regular formal reply problem can be resolved as soon as a citizen has reached the ruler using unknown methods.