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Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a new law that gives him lifelong immunity from prosecution and bars opposition leaders living in exile from running in the upcoming presidential election.
The law theoretically applies to any former president and members of his or her family. In reality, the law is only relevant to 69-year-old Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for nearly 30 years.
The new measure appears to be aimed at further strengthening Lukashenko's power and eliminating potential challengers in the country's next presidential election, which will take place in 2025.
The law significantly tightens the requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who have fled to neighboring 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 compete.
Belarus was rocked by mass protests during Lukashenko's controversial August 2020 re-election to a sixth term, which the opposition and the West condemned as rigged. At that time, Belarusian authorities arrested more than 35,000 people, many of whom were tortured in custody or fled the country.
Lukashenko has also been accused of involvement in the illegal transfer of children from Russian-occupied cities in Ukraine to Belarus. According to the text of the new law, Lukashenko, if he were to leave power, " cannot be held responsible for actions taken in connection with the exercise of his presidential powers ".
The law also states that the president and members of his family will be provided lifelong state protection, medical care, and life and health insurance. Upon resignation, the president would also become a permanent member of the upper house of parliament.
Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to neighboring Lithuania in 2020, said the new law was Lukashenko's response to his "fear of an imminent future", suggesting Lukashenko should worry about what It happened when he left power.
" Lukashenko, who destroyed the destinies of thousands of Belarusians, will be punished according to international law, and no immunity will protect him against this, it is only a matter of time ," said Tsikhanouskaya.
The country's political opposition is demanding 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," Tsikhanouskaya said, noting that there were still around 1,500 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski./ TheGuardian
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