A Belarusian journalist, filmmaker, and political activist who has been held in prison in Serbia for nearly six months pleaded with a court in Belgrade on March 26 not to be sent back to Belarus, saying his life would be endangered if he were extradited to his home country.
Andrey Hnyot (aka Andrew Gnyot) was arrested on October 30 at Belgrade airport based on an Interpol warrant issued at the request of Minsk for alleged tax evasion. Since then, he has been held in detention at Belgrade Central Prison.
"I hope Serbia won't succumb to Belarus's pressure to extradite me," Hnyot told the Higher Court, adding that extradition would put him in "mortal danger."
Hnyot, wearing a T-shirt with the word Truth written on it, denied the tax evasion charges, calling the criminal complaint against him politically motivated, unfounded, and false.
“The Belarusian regime subjects anyone who opposes it to harsh repression," said Hnyot, who said he came to Serbia to work on an international video project and was arrested when he got off a flight from Bangkok.
An appeals court in early March overturned a decision by the Higher Court in Belgrade, which had determined that the legal prerequisites for his extradition to Belarus had been met. But the appeals court returned the case to the Higher Court for reconsideration, saying there had been significant violations of procedures.
Hnyot left Belarus for Thailand in 2020 after criticizing the Belarusian regime and participating in protests following that year’s disputed presidential elections.
Authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed a sixth term in office in the election, which no Western governments recognized as free and fair. Faced with massive street demonstrations against his regime, Lukashenka launched a crackdown on civil society and independent media.
Hnyot told the court that Lukashenka's regime wants to punish him for his activism primarily because he is one of the founders of the nongovernmental organization Free Association of Athletes of Belarus (SOS BY).
"We openly opposed the dictatorship, human rights violations, and electoral fraud in Belarus in 2020. They are seeking revenge on us, and that's why I'm here now," Hnyot said.
The SOS BY called for the annulment of the elections, Lukashenka's resignation, and the release of citizens arrested during demonstrations against the regime. The organization was subsequently labeled extremist, a move that Western governments see as an instrument used to persecute political dissidents.
Hnyot presented documentation to the court that he said proved his claim that his human rights would be endangered in Belarus, and he spoke at length about why he wouldn't receive a fair trial there.
His lawyer, Filip Sofijanic, told RFE/RL that there are no legal grounds for extradition and his fears about being persecuted are justified, especially in light of reports from the United Nations that people incarcerated in Belarus are subjected to various forms of torture.
The hearing was attended by representatives of EU countries' embassies and human rights activists, including several Russians temporarily residing in Belgrade.
"I'm here to support Andrey as a colleague from the film industry. I sympathize with him, and I hope he'll be fine," one of the Russians, identified as Dina from Moscow, told RFE/RL.
Another Russian, who identified herself as Anastasia, told RFE/RL that she didn’t know Hnyot personally, but she wanted to support him because he's oppressed.
“The more people know about his case, the greater the chances of his defense," she said.
After the hearing Hnyot was returned to Belgrade Central Prison to await further proceedings in his case.