Serbian appeals court overturns extradition ruling of Belarus critic

On September 12, 2024, news from Belgrade. An appeals court in Serbia on Wednesday overturned an earlier ruling to extradite Andrei Hnieo, a critic of Belarus' authoritarian government, to Belarus and ordered a retrial of the case.

Serbian authorities arrested Hnieo at Belgrade airport on October 30 last year based on an Interpol arrest warrant issued at the request of the Belarusian authorities on the grounds of suspected tax evasion. In June this year, the Belgrade High Court ruled to extradite him to Belarus. However, the appeals court said that the first-instance court did not provide conclusive evidence of tax evasion and sent the case back for retrial. This is the third time the appeals court has overturned the high court's ruling on extraditing Hnieo.

Hnieo is a famous Belarusian film director and also a critic of Lukashenko. He filmed the large-scale protests and government repression in Belarus in 2020 and then fled the country. He said at a court hearing that if he is sent back to Belarus, he may face torture or even death.

Several international organizations including Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Federation for Human Rights have called on Serbia not to extradite Hnieo. More than 70 European artists and film directors also signed an open letter urging Serbia. Currently, Hnieo has been released from a Serbian prison but his movements are restricted. He can only leave his apartment for one hour a day and must wear a tracking anklet.