07 January 2024 , 22:18
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Vladimir Putin's crony and Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko has signed a new law which will give himself lifetime immunity from criminal prosecution.
The new statute also stops opposition leaders living in temporary exile from running in future presidential elections. In theory, the prosecution law applies to any former president and members of his or her family. In practice, its sole beneficiary is 69-year-old Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for three decades.
The new measure appears aimed at further shoring up Lukashenko's power and eliminating potential challengers in the country's next presidential election, which is due to take place in 2025. The law significantly tightens requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who fled to neighbouring countries in recent years. Only citizens of Belarus who have permanently resided in the country for at least 20 years and have never had a residence permit in another country are eligible to run.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests during Lukashenko's controversial re-election in August 2020 for a sixth term, which the opposition and the West condemned as fraudulent. At that time, Belarusian authorities detained more than 35,000 people, many of whom were tortured in custody or left the country.
Lukashenko also has been accused of involvement in the illegal transfer of children from Russian-occupied towns in Ukraine to Belarus. According to the text of the new law, Lukashenko, were he to leave power, "cannot be held accountable for actions committed in connection with exercising his presidential powers."
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The law also says the president and members of his family will be provided with lifelong state protection, medical care, life and health insurance. After resigning, the president would also become a permanent lifelong member of the upper house of parliament.
Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to neighbouring Lithuania in 2020, said the new law is Lukashenko's response to his "fear of an inevitable future," suggesting Lukashenko must be concerned about what happens to him when he leaves power. "Lukashenko, who ruined the fates of thousands of Belarusians, will be punished according to international law, and no immunity will protect him against this, it's only a matter of time," Tikhanovskaya said.
The country's political opposition is seeking an investigation into the disappearances of opposition politicians and the removal of Ukrainian children from Ukraine. "We will ensure that the dictator is brought to justice," Tikhanovskaya said, emphasizing that there are still about 1,500 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.