{"id":90860,"date":"2024-06-14T22:10:45","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T19:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/90860\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"dozen-rights-groups-call-on-serbia-not-to-extradite-belarusian-filmmaker","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/90860\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozen rights groups call on Serbia not to extradite Belarusian filmmaker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Andrej Hniot on Instagram)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

June 14, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> A dozen human rights organizations have called on Serbia not to extradite filmmaker Andrej Hniot to Belarus, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International law prohibits Serbia from extraditing people “to countries where they face the torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the groups said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the activists, “Hniot faces serious risks of torture and other forms of ill-treatment” amid reports of “grave human rights violations in Belarus, many of which might amount to crimes against humanity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Currently, the extradition of almost every Belarusian national who fled the country as a result of the brutal crackdown of the Belarusian authorities following the peaceful protests against the falsified 2020 presidential elections puts them at an immediate risk of politically motivated persecution,” the statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was signed by the Viasna Human Rights Center, Barys Zvozska\u016d Human Rights House, International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Italian Federation for Human Rights, Norwegian Helsinki Committee and other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hniot was arrested upon his arrival in Belgrade, Serbia, in October 2023, on the basis of an Interpol arrest warrant issued at the request of the Belarusian authorities, allegedly for tax evasion. The Belarusian filmmaker and his lawyers argue that these charges are fabricated and politically motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 31, the Belgrade High Court ordered his extradition to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Political pressure mounts as lawyers seek to prevent extradition of Belarusian filmmaker<\/h3>\n
June 13, Pozirk. Lawyers are looking for ways to prevent filmmaker Andrej Hniot's extradition from Serbia to Belarus, said Franak Via\u010dorka, an aide to Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja. Via\u010dorka told Pozirk that the situation is tricky. The legal team …<\/div>\n \n