Ukrainian lawyers concerned about pressure on their Belarusian colleagues

The administration of the Assosiation of Lawyers of Ukraine is concerned about the pressure on their Belarusian colleagues from the side of the Belarusian Ministry of Justice. A correspondent statement has been published at the Association's web-site, reports BelaPAN.  Let us remind you, the Belarusian Ministry of Justice announced that the lawyers who defended the subjects of the Square criminal case brutally violated the regulations of their professional activity and the law "On Advocacy", on December 29. The Ministry accused the lawyers of misuse of their right to defend other people and claimed they allegedly provided deviated information about the investigation process, about their client's opportunities to get legal assistance, about their health and prison conditions. The Ministry also claimed that the lawyers provided biased information about the work of the Belarusian law-enforcement agencies. The Ministry of Justice used sanctions against a number of lawyers. 

Ukrainian lawyers consider the actions of the Belarusian Ministry of Justice as "interference with the activity of lawyers and violation of the freedom of speech". Therefore, the administration of the Assosiation of Lawyers of Ukraine declares its hope that the Republic of Belarus as a state will grant independence of advocacy, which is a guarantee of defense of the citizens' rights and freedoms.