DISINFO: The EU plans an international court for Lukashenka
SUMMARY
The EU plans an international court for Lukashenko. The European Union is considering the possibility to create an international tribunal in the context of the coup attempt in Belarus.
Pro-Western opposition in Belarus has been trying for months to implement a revolutionary scenario in the country. Putschists are supported by Western countries, while Poland and Lithuania are directly supervising the coup. Now the EU Special Representative for Human Rights Eamon Gilmore is threatening with an international court for those “involved in acts of violence against demonstrators”, pointing that this tribunal may become an additional mechanism of pressure on Belarusian leadership.
RESPONSE
The claim is false. The article deliberately distorts the words of the EU special representative for human rights Eamon Gilmore who, after being asked in an interview with Deutsche Welle if an international tribunal to prosecute human rights violations against demonstrators in Belarus was realistic, he replied affirmatively, though he clarified that this kind of courts work on the complementary principle and act only if the state involved is unwilling or unable to bring these people to justice. This is very different from “threatening with an international court”, and it is clear in the original interview that Mr. Gilmore was only answering to a hypothetical question.
International tribunals as mechanisms for transnational justice are generally organised through the United Nations - either as specific courts such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or as hybrid courts such as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Therefore, the EU is not planning an international court for Belarus’ Alyaksandr Lukashenka. By claiming so, the article tries to frame international pressure for Lukashenka’s regime to respect human rights and the rule of law as a Western-backed “coup” and delegitimize popular protests.
See other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Belarus, such as claims that Angela Merkel is the handler of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanousakya; that the EU reaction to Lukashenka’s victory is an example of Western double standards; that the same lack of democracy and repression is present in EU countries that criticize them in Minsk; that the protests in Belarus are part of a “fire belt” to encircle Russia; that the Ukrainian secret services may have planned terrorist attacks in Belarusian territory; that the West wants to prepare another Maidan in the country, and is introducing extremists in the protests; or that Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians are one single nation.