Arrest of Konstantin Reutski and Yevhenii Vasyliev and search at home of Taciana Reviaka
On 12 August 2020, Ukrainian human rights defenders Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski were detained in Minsk by traffic police officers. Their whereabouts are currently unknown. Later that same day, a search was conducted at the home of Belarusian human rights defender Taciana Reviaka, where the two human rights defenders had been staying.
Konstantin Reutski is the Executive Director of the civic movement Vostok SOS. Vostok SOS is an initiative which focuses on providing aid to people who have been exposed to violence in Ukraine, including political violence. It also monitors human rights violations in the east of Ukraine. The movement was established in 2014 as a result of the merging of human rights centre 'Postup' (Path) and human rights centre 'Diya' (Action).
On 12 August 2020, Ukrainian human rights defenders Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski were detained in Minsk by traffic police officers. Their whereabouts are currently unknown. Later that same day, a search was conducted at the home of Belarusian human rights defender Taciana Reviaka, where the two human rights defenders had been staying.
Konstantin Reutski is the Executive Director and Yevhenii Vasyliev the coordinator of programs monitoring human rights violations for the civic movement Vostok SOS. Vostok SOS is an initiative which focuses on providing aid to people who have been exposed to violence in Ukraine, including political violence. It also monitors human rights violations in the east of Ukraine. The movement was established in 2014 as a result of the merging of human rights centre 'Postup' (Path) and human rights centre 'Diya' (Action). Taciana Reviaka is a coordinator with Belarusian Human Rights House, an initiative that unites Belarusian and Norwegian human rights organisations. Its work is focused on human rights advocacy, the protection of human rights defenders, providing support to victims of repression and education on human rights issues. It also works specifically on capacity building and empowering human rights defenders and their organisations.
On 12 August 2020, at approximately 5 pm, Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski were detained by traffic police near Victory Square in Minsk. They were arrested whilst filming the brutal detention of a person for no obvious or apparent reason. The two Ukrainian human rights defenders arrived in Belarus on the morning of 12 August on a monitoring mission, and their presence there was in accordance with the law. The detention of Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski was carried out using excessive force, and since being detained, their whereabouts have been unknown.
Later the same day, investigative officers conducted a search at the home of Belarusian human rights defender Taciana Reviaka, where Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski were staying whilst on the monitoring mission. A search warrant had been issued by the prosecutor of Sovietsky district of Minsk as part of a criminal investigation opened under Article 293 of the Criminal Code, on the charges of “organisation or participation in mass riot”. The police seized the computers of Taciana Reviaka and Konstantin Reutski, and the passport of Yevhenii Vasyliev during the search of the house
Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned about the safety and security of Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski, as it has received numerous testimonies regarding the use of torture and ill-treatment of those who have been detained since the protests began in Belarus in response to the presidential election results on 9 August 2020. It also expresses its concern regarding the current situation in Belarus, where over 6000 people have reportedly been detained since Sunday. Front Line Defenders believes that Yevhenii Vasyliev and Konstantin Reutski were detained solely in reprisal for their peaceful and legitimate human rights monitoring.
