Volodymyr Yavorskyy barred from returning to Belarus for 10 years; Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska released but remains a suspect
On 12 April 2021, the home and office of Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska were searched a second time by law enforcement officers, following the first search on 5 April 2021. During the three-hour raid, old documents and phones no longer in use were confiscated. Volodymyr Yavorskyy, prominent Ukrainian human rights defender and lawyer, and Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska’s husband, was in the house during the raid, following which he was taken for questioning. During the interrogation, Volodymyr Yavorskyy was subjected to physical and psychological abuse and was denied access to his lawyer. Following the interrogation, the human rights defender was informed that he must leave Belarus with his children within 48 hours, and was threatened that if he failed to do so, he would be arrested and his children would be placed in State institutions. Volodymyr Yavorskyy was also informed that he was banned from re-entering Belarus for 10 years
Volodymyr Yavorskyy is a Ukrainian human rights defender and lawyer. He is a member of the board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and one of the founders and head of the board of the Docudays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival.
On 15 April 2021, woman human rights defender Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska was released from detention centre No.1 on Volodarskaya street in Minsk, after being detained for 10 days. The woman human rights defender remains a suspect in a case opened against her on charges of “organization of group actions that grossly violate public order” (Part 1, Article 342 of the Criminal Code), and has been obliged to pledge that she will not leave the jurisdiction. The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of three years’ imprisonment.
On 12 April 2021, the home and office of Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska were searched a second time by law enforcement officers, following the first search on 5 April 2021. During the three-hour raid, old documents and phones no longer in use were confiscated. Volodymyr Yavorskyy, prominent Ukrainian human rights defender and lawyer, and Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska’s husband, was in the house during the raid, following which he was taken for questioning. During the interrogation, Volodymyr Yavorskyy was subjected to physical and psychological abuse and was denied access to his lawyer. Following the interrogation, the human rights defender was informed that he must leave Belarus with his children within 48 hours, and was threatened that if he failed to do so, he would be arrested and his children would be placed in State institutions. Volodymyr Yavorskyy was also informed that he was banned from re-entering Belarus for 10 years, however he was not provided with any documentation outlining this ban. The human rights defender has been assigned a witness status in the criminal investigation into his wife, and has also signed a non-disclosure agreement, preventing him from discussing the details of the case.
On 14 April 2021, unknown individuals visited Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska in detention centre No.1 and reportedly promised to release her and allow her husband to remain in the country if she accepted a proposed offer, but the woman human rights defender refused to communicate with them. That same day, 14 April 2021, Volodymyr Yavorskyy left Belarus in adherence with the order he received to do so. The following day, Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska was granted release from detention on condition that she would not leave the jurisdiction as she remains a suspect in the criminal investigation.
Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned by the designation of Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska as a suspect in the criminal investigation and by the order restricting her movement, which it believes is in retaliation for her legitimate and peaceful efforts to promote and protect human rights in Belarus. The organisation condemns the targeting of the woman human rights defender’s husband, Volodymyr Yavorskyy, and their family more broadly, as an attempt to silence Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska and deter her from continuing her human rights activities. Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Belarus to drop the investigation into Tanya Hatsura-Yavorska and revoke the ban issued against Volodymyr Yavorskyy and allow him to safely return to Belarus without fear of reprisal for doing so.
