BELARUS: Joint call on Belarusian authorities to immediately release lawyer Dmitri Laevski
21 September, 2026
Lawyers for Lawyers, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, the International Observatory for Lawyers at Risk and The Law Society of England and Wales strongly condemn the conviction and imprisonment of lawyer Dmitri Laevski by Belarusian authorities, call for his immediate release and for the dismissal of all charges against him.
On 9 September, the Minsk City Court sentenced Mr. Laevski to three years’ imprisonment for “facilitating extremist activity” and “discrediting” Belarus. His conviction marks a further escalation in the systematic repression of lawyers who carry out their professional duties and exercise their right to freedom of expression in Belarus.
