In 2020, Belarusian citizens took to the streets of Minsk to protest the re-election, for a sixth term, of the authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko. Amid the political repression that followed, the regime continued to target opponents who had fled Belarus. Lukashenko's dictatorship exploits mechanisms of international legal cooperation, created to combat crime, as instruments of transnational repression.

Political persecution takes the form of ordinary legal procedure. Foreign courts, law enforcement and migration authorities receive criminal cases and official requests that comply with international procedures. But the regime uses such cases to pursue their political objectives.

Even when individuals are refused extradition, legal proceedings create prolonged uncertainty. Authorities restrict freedom of movement, impose financial costs, and force individuals to prove the political nature of their persecution.

The adaptation of persecution to mass emigration shows that authoritarian regimes use international legal cooperation not only to combat crime but as instruments of transnational persecution. This creates new challenges for the international legal order.

1. From domestic control to cross-border persecution

After 2020, the regime's repressive system focused on suppressing domestic protest through mass detentions, administrative arrests, and criminal prosecution. Amid the mass emigration that followed, the state's capacity for direct coercion diminished. As previous methods became less effective, the regime adapted its persecution of Belarusians in exile by designating overseas Belarusian initiatives 'extremist formations'. On this basis, it opened criminal cases, issued convictions in absentia, and circulated 'wanted' notices.

Amid the mass emigration that followed the 2020 protests, the regime began persecuting Belarusians in exile, designating Belarusian initiatives 'extremist formations'

Foreign authorities treat such requests as ordinary criminal proceedings until they can establish their political nature. The European Parliament has highlighted the transnational nature of these practices.

The regime's actions affect not just Belarusians but European courts, police, and migration authorities. This use of international legal mechanisms for political purposes poses a challenge to the European legal order.

2. How the Lukashenko regime uses Interpol

The regime uses Interpol to pursue political opponents across borders. It issues international 'wanted' notices on charges of ordinary criminal or economic offences. It presents political persecution as routine criminal prosecution and engages international police cooperation.

Information transmitted through these channels provides the basis for a person's arrest abroad. This deprives that person of liberty, and initiates extradition proceedings before the political motivation of the case has been examined.

And even when international mechanisms recognise the political nature of the persecution and revoke the measures taken, the regime has already deprived the individual of their liberty, and drawn them into lengthy legal proceedings outside Belarus. The termination of an international wanted notice does not terminate an already initiated national extradition proceeding.

National authorities in receiving states presume the good faith of foreign procedural documents. The Belarus regime exploits this presumption

Humanitarian visas and international protection status do not prevent cross-border criminal prosecution. National authorities in receiving states presume the good faith of foreign procedural documents. The Belarus regime exploits this presumption, triggering arrest and detention procedures before examining the political motivation behind the charges.

Legal disguise enables the regime to abuse Interpol mechanisms and the trust of democratic states. This extends repression beyond Belarus, and draws foreign law enforcement authorities into the persecution of political opponents.

3. Exploiting legal procedures for cross-border persecution

The effectiveness of transnational repression rests on its appearance of legality. Framing political persecution as ordinary crime prevents the automatic rejection of requests and compels foreign authorities to initiate legal review. Procedural safeguards designed to protect individuals thus become a vulnerability. This gives Lukashenko's regime access to the courts, prosecution services, and police forces in democratic states.

For Lukashenko, even the initiation of extradition proceedings becomes an instrument of pressure. Reviews and court proceedings may last months or years, becoming a form of repression in themselves. Detention and travel restrictions isolate the individual, while financial costs intensify psychological pressure.

Political persecution continues through the legal mechanisms of the receiving state. Rather than physical violence, the regime uses legal uncertainty to signal to Belarusians in exile that leaving the country does not guarantee safety. This, of course, discourages their public activity abroad.

4. Systemic threats to the European legal order

Authoritarian regimes exploit European institutions against citizens in exile. Democratic procedural safeguards create opportunities for manipulation. They require courts, police, and migration authorities to process requests. As a result, public authorities spend time examining fabricated political cases. Authorities input false information into databases built on mutual trust, undermining the security system.

The use of legal procedures against regime opponents erodes the perception of Europe as a safe haven, deepening insecurity among citizens in exile. Systematic abuse of international legal cooperation requires changes to existing procedural protocols. Protecting the European legal order requires prior verification of interstate notifications to block politically motivated requests before formal proceedings begin.

Amid mass emigration, Lukashenko's regime has been forced to change the way it represses its citizens. Instead of physical violence there are trials in absentia, pressure on relatives, passport restrictions, and the manipulation of international law

Lukashenko's regime demonstrates how dictatorships have adapted to the mass emigration of political opponents. In response to opposition activity abroad, it has combined domestic repression with transnational persecution. The regime supplements physical violence with trials in absentia, pressure on relatives, passport restrictions, and the manipulation of international law. The dictatorship has changed the form of repression while preserving its objectives. These requests targeting citizens in exile shouldn't be seen in isolation. Rather, each forms part of a broader pattern of political persecution.

5. Instruments of transnational repression

The regime’s manipulation of international law demonstrates how contemporary dictatorships can transform democratic institutions into instruments of transnational repression. Countering this threat requires the international legal system to introduce robust safeguards.

These should include 'the rejection of automatic trust in criminal procedural documents originating from Belarus', mandatory review of every extradition or police request for political motivation before any restriction of liberty is imposed, and the blocking of transnational criminal claims where the targeted individual has already been granted international protection or humanitarian status in the host country. A systematic revision of these procedures would strengthen the rule of law and enhance the security of citizens living in exile.

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