• Journalist and filmmaker Andrei Gnyot has left Serbia for the EU, but is still waiting on a final decision in the court case on his now hypothetical extradition to Belarus.
• Gnyot’s legal team, alongside international organizations such as Amnesty International, claimed he could face an unfair trial, torture and potentially the death penalty if extradited.
• Competing pressures from both the EU and Belarus/Russia mean that Gnyot spent a year in detention awaiting a decision on his case.

Andrei Gnyot and the misuse of INTERPOL

Andrei Gnyot, a Belarusian filmmaker and activist, spent one year awaiting potential extradition back to Belarus from Serbia, where he was under house arrest based on an Interpol Red Notice. Gnyot, whose name is alternatively transliterated as ‘Andrew’ or ‘Andrey’ and ‘Hnyot’ or ‘Hniot’  in English language media, travelled to Serbia in late October 2023 for work, when he was detained by the Serbian border police due to a Red Notice issued by the Belarusian Interpol Bureau a month earlier.[1] From Interpol’s website, a Red Notice is described as a ‘request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action’.[2]

In the case of Andrei Gnyot, the Red Notice had been issued for tax evasion, a charge that Gnyot and his legal team claim was fabricated to circumvent Interpol’s rules against politically motivated arrest warrants.[3] Gnyot is the co-founder of the Free Association of Athletes (‘SOS-BY’), which uploaded protest videos against Belarus’ Lukashenko regime in 2020 and ultimately led to Gnyot fleeing the country due to risk of arrest after the government designated SOS-BY as an extremist organisation.[4] Gnyot claims these tax evasion charges are completely spurious (applying a post-2019 tax law to his pre-2019 taxes) and are part of a systematic crackdown on independent media.[5] Amnesty International  called on the Serbian government to provide protection to Andrei Gnyot, calling his charges ‘politically motivated’.[6]

After seven months in prison in Belgrade, Gnyot was transferred to a house arrest order. After a High Court decision to extradite him in June, Gnyot’s case was transferred to the Court of Appeals for review.[7] Interpol withdrew the Red Notice against him in July 2024, acknowledging in a letter to Gnyot and his legal team that the Red Notice contradicted Interpol’s statutes.[8] However, Andrei Gnyot remained on house arrest for five months, until the most recent development which saw him freed from extradition detention due to the one year legal limit for this detention having been reached.[9]Gnyot’s lawyers have stated that while Gnyot is now geographically safe from an extradition attempt, the case is ongoing in Serbia and they expect an appeal by the prosecution.[10]

While Interpol runs on a principle of neutrality, with its Constitution prohibiting its activities to be used for ‘political’ purposes, international NGOs have been raising concerns for over a decade that Interpol’s systems have been used as political tools.[11] Interpol has been criticised for allowing Belarus to be one of the countries issuing the largest number of Red Notices, while at the same time being a country that is listed as ‘corrupt’ on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).[12] Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran for the Presidency of Belarus in 2020 and was herself subjected to an attempted arrest warrant – this one refused from the outset by Interpol – has called for an international ‘derecognition’ of Lukashenko’s regime and his suspension from Interpol. [13][14]

Belarus’ Human Rights Record

Belarus has had the same president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, since 1994 and this thirty-year period in power sees him sometimes dubbed ‘Europe’s last dictator’. Lukashenko has already announced that he will run for a seventh term in the country’s next presidential election, expected in early 2025. Nearly all of Lukashenko’s presidential wins have been contested, with credible allegations of electoral fraud and of having his critics disappeared.[15] The Platform for Peace and Humanity has previously reported on the police violence against protesters which occurred after the 2020 election, including claims of torture of detained protesters.[16]

Belarus is the only European country to retain the death penalty, and it’s believed that the most recent state execution happened in 2022, although details of deaths are not always made public – even to family members – until after the fact. Amendments to the criminal code have been made in both 2022 and 2023, to allow the death penalty for treason and for attempted acts of terrorism. These changes have drawn international criticism due to the potential use of terrorism charges to further suppress dissent in Belarus.[17] The European Union has repeatedly spoken out against the death penalty in Belarus, asking the country to follow the ‘worldwide trend’ and move towards abolition.[18]

Anaïs Marin, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, released a 2024 report which highlights “over a dozen reported cases of deaths in custody since 2020, most likely caused by inadequate or untimely medical care.” The report also draws focus to what it calls “concerning trends”; “including ill-treatment and deaths in custody, possible enforced disappearances, […], widespread arbitrary detentions, politically motivated convictions by courts […]”. Marin’s investigation also revealed that a quarter of those who died in custody in Belarus had been arrested on “politically motivated charges”.[19]

Many human rights organisations have raised the alarm on the regime’s particular focus on the repression of the press, with many journalists being arrested on charges of extremism. In 2023, Belarus had the third-highest number of imprisoned journalists of any country, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists.[20] Reporters Without Borders has highlighted concerns about “degrading videos” that Belarus officials are filming and uploading of detained journalists, including videos of forced confessions.[21] In this context, it is understandable why Andrei Gnyot and his legal team feared that he was at risk of being subjected to torture if extradited.

Serbia knowingly supporting the misuses of Interpol?

This wouldn’t be the first time that Serbia had honoured a Red Notice which was being used to circumvent Interpol’s neutrality rules. In 2022 Serbia found itself in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) when it extradited a labour activist to Bahrain on charges of ‘terrorism’. At the time, NGOs such as the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights accused Serbia of going ahead with the extradition to further relations between the two countries.[22]

Yet again, Serbia looks to have been considering extraditing Andrei Gnyot to Belarus on charges which seem inarguably politically motivated, and aligning itself with a country that has been repeatedly condemned by the EU. In fact, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)’s Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group publicly called for Serbia not to extradite Andrei Gnyot, as it would have gone against Serbia’s duty as a signatory to the ECHR to put Gnyot at risk of an unfair trial and conditions which may amount to torture during detention.[23]

Serbia has been an EU candidate country since 2012, three years after it formally applied to join the Union. In recent years, the EU Action Plan on the Balkans has seen strengthened cooperation between Serbia and the EU, particularly around issues of irregular migration.[24] Progress on joining the EU has, however, been slow, with Serbia failing to align with a number of EU restrictive measures, including sanctions, linked to Russia and Belarus. The most recent EU report on Serbia’s accession has called it “a matter of priority” for Serbia to align with EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).[25]

Amnesty International notes that in 2023, Belarus found itself further isolated from the EU after offering safe haven to troops from the private military company Wagner, and allowing Russia to move tactical nuclear weapons onto Belarusian territory.[26] Despite this, relations between Belarus and Serbia remain strong, and Belarus has supported Serbia to upgrade its armed forces, providing them with MiG-29 fighter jets in 2021.[27]

While the wait continues for the Serbian justice system to ultimately decide in Andrei Gnyot’s case, Serbia’s potential facilitating of Belarus’ misuse of Interpol processes is not the only court case that will be of interest to those who have fled Lukashenko’s regime. Attention will also be on the recently announced Polish case against three Belarusian officials – including the ​head of Lukashenko’s secret service – for forcing a Ryanair flight to land in order to detain Raman Pratasevich, a Belarusian blogger and political activist.[28] In a case of dramatic irony, Poland plans to issue its own Red Notice for these men acting under Lukashenko’s regime to flaunt international regulations.

References

[1] BELARUSIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS ‘INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR RELEASE OF ANDREI HNIOT’ HTTPS://BAJ.MEDIA/EN/INTERNATIONAL-JOURNALIST-ORGANIZATIONS-CALL-FOR-RELEASE-OF-ANDREI-HNIOT/

[2] INTERPOL ‘VIEW RED NOTICES’ HTTPS://WWW.INTERPOL.INT/EN/HOW-WE-WORK/NOTICES/RED-NOTICES/VIEW-RED-NOTICES’

[3] THE GUARDIAN ‘DIRECTORS AND ACTORS URGE SERBIA NOT TO EXTRADITE ACTIVIST TO BELARUS’ HTTPS://WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM/WORLD/ARTICLE/2024/AUG/26/DIRECTORS-ACTORS-CALL-SERBIA-NOT-EXTRADITE-ACTIVIST-BELARUS-ANDREI-GNYOT

[4] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ‘SERBIA: ACTIVIST ANDREI GNYOT MUST NOT BE EXTRADITED TO BELARUS’ HTTPS://WWW.AMNESTY.ORG/EN/LATEST/NEWS/2024/06/SERBIA-ACTIVIST-ANDREI-GNYOT-MUST-NOT-BE-EXTRADITED-TO-BELARUS/

[5] NOVAYA GAZETA EUROPE ‘HOW THE BELARUS REGIME IS MANIPULATING INTERPOL INTO ARRESTING ITS ENEMIES’ HTTPS://NOVAYAGAZETA.EU/ARTICLES/2024/07/08/THEY-WONT-GET-ME-EN

[6] AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (N4)

[7] RADIO FREE EUROPE ‘BELGRADE COURT ANNULS DECISION TO EXTRADITE BELARUSIAN ACTIVIST, BUT ORDERS CASE TO BE RETRIED’ HTTPS://WWW.RFERL.ORG/A/BELARUS-SERBIA-COURT-APPEALS-EXTRADITION-HNYOT/33116478.HTML

[8] BELARUSIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS ‘THE COURT OF APPEAL IN BELGRADE HEARD THE PARTIES IN THE CASE OF ANDREI HNIOT.’ HTTPS://BAJ.MEDIA/EN/THE-COURT-OF-APPEAL-IN-BELGRADE-HEARD-THE-PARTIES-IN-THE-CASE-OF-ANDREI-HNIOT/

[9] BALKAN INSIGHT ‘BELARUS ACTIVIST FREED FROM DETENTION IN SERBIA LEAVES FOR EU’ HTTPS://BALKANINSIGHT.COM/2024/11/01/BELARUS-ACTIVIST-FREED-FROM-DETENTION-IN-SERBIA-LEAVES-FOR-EU/

[10] BALKAN INSIGHT (N9)

[11] FAIR TRIALS INTERNATIONAL ‘STRENGTHENING RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, STRENGTHENING INTERPOL.’ HTTPS://WWW.FAIRTRIALS.ORG/APP/UPLOADS/2022/01/STRENGTHENING-RESPECT-FOR-HUMAN-RIGHTS-STRENGTHENING-INTERPOL4.PDF

[12] TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL ‘OUR WORK IN BELARUS’

HTTPS://WWW.TRANSPARENCY.ORG/EN/COUNTRIES/BELARUS

[13] THE GUARDIAN (N3)

[14] CHATHAM HOUSE ‘IN CONVERSATION WITH SVIATLANA TSIKHANOUSKAYA’ HTTPS://WWW.CHATHAMHOUSE.ORG/EVENTS/ALL/MEMBERS-EVENT/CONVERSATION-SVIATLANA-TSIKHANOUSKAYA

[15] EURONEWS ‘AFTER 30 YEARS IN POWER, ‘EUROPE’S LAST DICTATOR’ REMAINS FIRMLY IN CONTROL’ HTTPS://WWW.EURONEWS.COM/2024/07/20/AFTER-30-YEARS-IN-POWER-EUROPES-LAST-DICTATOR-REMAINS-FIRMLY-IN-CONTROL

[16] Platform for Peace and Humanity ‘Closed doors for investigation of post-electoral violence in Belarus at the International Criminal Court?’ https://peacehumanity.org/2020/08/20/closed-doors-for-investigation-of-post-electoral-violence-in-belarus-at-the-international-criminal-court/

[17] Library of Congress ‘Belarus: New Law Expands Application of Death Penalty and Extends Detention for Treason’ https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2023-03-12/belarus-new-law-expands-application-of-death-penalty-and-extends-detention-for-treason/

[18]EEAS ‘Belarus: Statement by the Spokesperson on a new death sentence’

https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/belarus-statement-spokesperson-new-death-sentence_en

[19] A/HRC/56/65: Situation of human rights in Belarus – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Anaïs Marin

https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/072/84/pdf/g2407284.pdf

[20] Committee to Protect Journalists. ‘28 Journalists Imprisoned in Belarus’

https://cpj.org/data/imprisoned/2023/?status=Imprisoned&cc_fips%5B%5D=BO&start_year=2023&end_year=2023&group_by=location

[21] Reporters Without Borders. ‘Belarus: RSF shocked by humiliating methods used against journalists.’

https://rsf.org/en/belarus-rsf-shocked-humiliating-methods-used-against-journalists

[22] The Guardian ‘‘Illegal’ extradition of Bahraini dissident from Serbia calls Interpol’s role into question’ https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/feb/16/extradition-of-bahraini-dissident-from-serbia-calls-interpol-role-into-question

[23] EESC ‘The EESC Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group calls on Serbia not to extradite Andrey Gnyot to Belarus’ eesc-fundamental-rights-and-rule-law-group-calls-serbia-not-extradite-andrey-gnyot-belarus

[24] European Commission ‘EU signs agreement with Serbia to strengthen migration and border management cooperation’ https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-signs-agreement-serbia-strengthen-migration-and-border-management-cooperation-2024-06-25_en

[25] European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations ‘Serbia Report 2023’ https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/serbia-report-2023_en

[26] Amnesty International ‘Belarus 2023’ https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/europe-and-central-asia/eastern-europe-and-central-asia/belarus/report-belarus/

[27] N1 ‘Belarus delivers four Russian-made MIG-29 planes to Serbia’

https://n1info.rs/english/news/belarus-delivers-four-russian-made-mig-29-planes-to-serbia/

[28] Politico ‘Poland wants 3 Belarusians behind bars for Ryanair forced landing’ https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-belarusia-suspects-ryanair-flight-diversion-arrest-warrants-aleksandr-lukashenko/