Statement of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Belarus

There is no point in commenting on the obnoxious parallels and statements toward Belarus made by Kyrgyzstan leadership. It would be impossible for a civilized country leader to make such overwhelmingly emotional statements.

Even if we set aside bias judgment, it goes beyond generally accepted international norms of criminal justice to announce at the highest level the accusation of committing a felony. The constitution and legal system of any modern state establish that no one can be plead guilty of committing a crime until court verdict, that has entered into legal force, says so.

However, based on a number of criminal trials in absentia that were held in Kyrgyzstan, it is safe to say that the country has its own peculiar approach to justice.

It causes doubts that the Kyrgyz state is able to ensure respect to its citizens’ human rights including the right to a fair judicial protection.

Competent authorities of the Republic of Belarus are committed to do their job clearly and take all reasonable steps to identify and detain persons implicated in murder of presumably a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. Any interference in their work, without limitation to highest officials of foreign states, is unacceptable.

Minsk, February 27, 2015