Belarus says accusations of crimes against humanity put before ICC are absurd

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov said allegations of crimes against humanity by his country, which Lithuania has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate, were absurd, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Thursday.

Lithuania said on Monday it was asking the ICC to investigate alleged crimes carried out by its neighbour Belarus under the rule of authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, including forced deportations. The ICC’s chief prosecutor said he would launch a preliminary inquiry.

RIA quoted Ryzhenkov as saying: “You don’t have to be a recognised expert in international law to understand the absurdity and far-fetched nature of the accusations brought forward.”

He described the Lithuanian move as futile.

The exiled Belarus opposition says about 300,000 people were forced to flee the country – many to Lithuania – when Lukashenko cracked down on mass protests in 2020, and one thirtieth of Belarusians are now living in exile.

Without a referral from the U.N. Security Council, the ICC can investigate crimes against humanity carried out by a national of, or on the territory of, countries that accept its jurisdiction. Although Belarus is not a signatory, Vilnius said its neighbour’s actions had affected its own security interests, which obliged it to seek the intervention of the court.