BELGRADE -- Under house arrest in the Serbian capital, Andrey Hnyot, a Belarusian journalist, filmmaker, and opposition activist, is facing a nerve-wracking few weeks waiting for a decision on whether he will be extradited back to Belarus.
His case, which was heard in the Court Of Appeals in Belgrade on August 27, has once again highlighted how authoritarian governments, such as Belarus's, can misuse Interpol's "red notices" to pursue dissidents on politicized charges outside their own borders.
Hnyot was arrested at Belgrade airport in October 2023 on an Interpol "red notice" requested by Belarus. Red notices are not arrest warrants but a tool to alert Interpol members that a person is sought by legal authorities in a particular country.
In May, a court in Belgrade issued a decision that would allow Hnyot's extradition to Belarus, a verdict that the journalist and activist decided to appeal.
A critic of the Belarusian regime, Hnyot faces allegations of tax evasion in Minsk. He has dismissed these charges as "fabricated," describing them as the Belarusian authorities' "systematic mechanism of persecution" against political opponents.
Outside the court was a gathering of Hnyot's supporters and antiwar activists, who were calling on Serbia to refuse to extradite the Belarusian journalist. Some carried banners saying: "Serbia, We Are Counting On You," and "Extradition Equals Death."
When the hearing got under way, Hnyot urged the judges not to send him back to the "dictatorship in Belarus," where, he said, he could expect "torture and practically death."
"You must not send an innocent man to his death," he said in court. "That small mistake would leave a mark on Serbia. I beg you to save my life, because it's very easy to do."
Challenged Election
Hnyot is among thousands of Belarusians who participated in the massive 2020 protests challenging the electoral victory of authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, clamping down on the political opposition and independent media.
When he received an unsigned court summons in June 2021 instructing him to "appear as a witness" at the Belarusian Investigative Committee, his lawyers advised him to leave Belarus, as such summonses often signal the authorities' intent to arrest him.
Hnyot arrived in Serbia from Thailand, where he had been living in exile, citing a scheduled film project as the reason for his visit.
Arrested immediately on his arrival in the country, Hnyot spent seven months in a Belgrade jail before being placed under house arrest on June 5.
The European Union, along with international and Serbian NGOs, has called for Hnyot's release. EU spokesman Peter Stano told RFE/RL that Hnyot would likely experience political repression and mistreatment if extradited to Belarus.
In an open letter published in The Guardian on August 26, dozens of European film directors, actors, and other artists called on the Serbian authorities not to extradite Hnyot, warning that he would face "prison, torture, and even the death penalty" if he returned to Belarus.
Red Notices
Interpol has been under pressure from the EU and Western governments to revise its practices. A long-standing critique of the organization charges that undemocratic governments have weaponized the organization in order to clamp down on dissent outside their borders, and that the body is not transparent or accountable enough.
A 2022 report in the Harvard International Review said that Interpol and the "red notice" system had been "transferred...into the autocrat's sniper rifle, a precise, long-range weapon used by dictators to criminalize dissent beyond their shores."
Numerous dissidents and rights activists have been targeted by Interpol's "red notice" system, including Bill Browder, a British financier and human rights activist who advocated for the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on Russian officials. China also targeted Dolkun Isa, a Uyghur activist, through a "red notice" that was widely perceived as an attempt to suppress Uyghur activism. In both cases, Interpol eventually revoked the notices.
Speaking to RFE/RL's Balkan Service on August 10, Hnyot said that he had been informed by Interpol that his "red notice" had been "suspended and the data erased due to violations of Articles 2 and 3 of the Interpol Statute." Those articles state the organization's aims and its neutral and nonpolitical standing.
'Extremism' Charges
Hnyot is the founder of the Free Association of Athletes, which is labeled an extremist organization in Belarus. In an open letter, signed by more than 2,000 Belarusian athletes and sports representatives, the association demanded the annulment of the 2020 presidential election, widely deemed neither free nor fair; Lukashenka's resignation; and the release of all those arrested during the postelection demonstrations.
State authorities in Belarus routinely use "extremism" charges as a tool for political pressure and the persecution of dissidents.
Over 1,500 political prisoners are currently held in Belarusian prisons, including journalists, human rights activists, and politicians.
Between 200,000 and 500,000 Belarusians fled the country after the crackdown on anti-regime protests in 2020.
According to the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, 35 Belarusian journalists are currently in prison, and nearly 500 have fled the country.
The United Nations has repeatedly urged Belarusian authorities to release political prisoners and protect their rights.
The German-based International Society for Human Rights has described the situation of political prisoners in Belarus as "catastrophic," while the Belarusian human rights group Viasna reported that at least five political prisoners have died in custody over the past two years.
As a journalist, Hnyot has contributed to the independent Belarusian media outlet Belsat and also Current Time, the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL.
Hnyot's defense said that it expects the Court Of Appeals' decision to be announced in the next three to four weeks.
According to the law, the court's final decision will be submitted to Justice Minister Maja Popovic, who can either sign the extradition order, postpone it, or reject the court's decision entirely.
Speaking to RFE/RL after the court hearing, Hnyot said he was hopeful for a positive outcome due to the strong public support for his case.
Hnyot said that he reminded the court of its responsibility, saying that a "bad decision can destroy the life of not only one person, not only me, but can you imagine how many hundreds of people are around me: my parents, my relatives, my sister, my friends."
