{"id":109860,"date":"2024-10-17T14:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T11:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/109860\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"prominent-lawyer-steps-down-as-president-of-human-rights-association","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/109860\/","title":{"rendered":"Prominent lawyer steps down as president of human rights association"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/kolesova_gudilina_screen_1128x752_2023.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/kolesova_gudilina_screen_1128x752_2023.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/kolesova_gudilina_screen_1128x752_2023-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/kolesova_gudilina_screen_1128x752_2023-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/kolesova_gudilina_screen_1128x752_2023-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/kolesova_gudilina_screen_1128x752_2023-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Civil Education School file photo)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>October 17, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Maryja Kolesava-Hudzilina has stepped down as president of the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers, an association formed in April 2023 by defense attorneys who fled Belarus fearing reprisals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The move comes days after security forces raided her home in the Minsk region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On October 8, media reported that Committee for State Security agents and riot police officers raided the \u017dodzina apartment where she is registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Belarus, Kolesava-Hudzilina defended Eduard Pal\u010dys, Ja\u016dhien Ju\u0161kievi\u010d, D\u017amitryj Papo\u016d and other high-profile opposition figures. Authorities disbarred her and declared her Instagram page extremist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last night, the association said on Telegram that Kolesava-Hudzilina is no longer its president. She later took to Facebook to announce that she had left the association on Friday on her own initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government has cracked down on lawyers after the 2020 disputed presidential election. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said that lawyers must be under government control and act according to the law and \u201cnot according to some invented norms \u2013 freedom of speech and other freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The number of defense attorneys dropped in four years in Belarus from 2,200 to 1,650 in January 2024, the Prava na Abaronu advocacy group reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April, Deputy Justice Minister Mika\u0142aj Staravojta\u016d said that the country\u2019s 1,588 lawyers are providing \u201cprofessional legal assistance to all those who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Reprisals: KGB harasses legal citizen groups<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">October 16, Pozirk. The Committee for State Security (KGB) is &quot;doing a lot of work with organizations operating inside Belarus legally,&quot; Viasna reported. The human rights center said that the KGB over the past month summoned for interviews and detained &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/109822\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read <\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 17, Pozirk. Maryja Kolesava-Hudzilina has stepped down as president of the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers, an association formed in April 2023 by defense attorneys who fled Belarus fearing reprisals. The move comes days after security forces raided her home in the Minsk region. On October 8, media reported that Committee for State [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":109796,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-109860","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Prominent lawyer steps down as president of human rights association | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 17, Pozirk. Maryja Kolesava-Hudzilina has stepped down as president of the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers, an association formed\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/109860\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prominent lawyer steps down as president of human rights association | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 17, Pozirk. 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