In 2020, Lukashenko was challenged by pro-democracy candidates ahead of the presidential election. One of the candidates was popular YouTuber Sergei Tikhanovsky. He ran an anti-corruption slogan, “Stop the cockroaches,” and encouraged thousands to sign a petition to vote, and his supporters brought slippers to rallies – a favorite tool for getting rid of pests in the home. He drove around in a car with giant slippers tied to the roof. Tikhanovsky was arrested before the vote and has been jailed since on unfounded charges of disturbing the peace.
Another challenger, Viktor Babariko, a prominent Minsk banker, collected 400,000 signatures to run for office, far more than the 100,000 needed to appear on the ballot. Babariko campaigned on democracy, separation of powers, and presidential term limits, vowing to create “a country where people are respected.” He was arrested before the election on trumped-up bribery charges and has been in prison ever since.
Shockingly, both Mr. Tikhanovsky and Mr. Babariko have been missing for over a year. According to a policy brief published by Freedom House, Mr. Tikhanovsky’s family and lawyers have not heard from him since March 9, 2023. Mr. Babariko has not been heard from since April 26, 2023. This is devastating for the prisoners, who have not received a word or message from the outside world, and for their families, who are left wondering if their loved ones are still alive.
Tikhanovsky’s wife, Svetlana, took over the campaign. She was joined by Maria Kolesnikova, who had been active in Babariko’s campaign, and Veronika Tsepkalo, whose husband Valery, also a candidate, had fled Belarus for Moscow fearing arrest. The three women won by large margins to huge crowds’ cheers, but then Lukashenko stole the election from the real winner.
Lukashenko gave Tikhanovskaya exile, and she now heads the Belarusian Democratic Forces. Kolesnikova refused to flee. She was arrested on the absurd charge of plotting to overthrow the government and sentenced to 11 years in prison. According to Freedom House, she has been held incommunicado for over a year since February 15, 2023. Her lawyer and opposition colleague, Maxim Znak, was also arrested but has not been seen since February 8, 2023.
Ihar Rosik ran a popular Telegram channel before the election. He was arrested in June 2020 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for “incitement to hatred” and “planning a riot”. He was last contacted on February 20, 2023. Opposition politician Mikalai Statkevich was arrested on his way to Tikhanovskaya’s election rally and later sentenced to 14 years in prison for “planning a riot”. He has not been seen since February 10, 2023.
This practice goes far beyond Belarus. Uighur writer, economist and professor Ilham Tohti has been held incommunicado by China for years. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, a founding member of the now-disbanded Saudi Association for Civil and Political Rights, has not been seen since October 24, 2022, according to Saudi human rights monitor ALQST. Another Saudi prisoner, Turki Al-Jasser, has been in enforced disappearance for years. Abdulrahman Al-Sadan, who was jailed by Saudi authorities for making satirical social media posts, was held in incommunicado detention for 23 months.
The UN General Assembly ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on December 23, 2010. The Convention declares that “no one shall be subject to enforced disappearance” and that “no exceptional circumstances, such as a state of war or threat of war, internal political instability or other public emergency, shall be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.” Unfortunately, 84 countries, including Belarus, Saudi Arabia and the United States, have not taken any action on this Convention.
The world should continue to pay close attention to the cases of these prisoners. The United States and other countries should regularly demand proof of the disappearances. Authoritarian regimes cannot slam prison doors, throw away the keys, and turn a blind eye.
