A Serbian court has ruled that Belarusian director, journalist and political activist Andrey Gnyot will be extradited to Belarus, where he faces tax evasion charges. Gnyot claims he is a victim of political persecution.
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00:00After seven months in prison, this small apartment in Belgrade feels almost like freedom for
00:06Andrei Nyot.
00:07The Belarusian journalist and activist was arrested in Serbia last year on an Interpol
00:11warrant for alleged tax evasion in Belarus.
00:14Nyot insists that this is a case of political persecution.
00:18Now under house arrest, he is working tirelessly on his defense.
00:22The Belarusian system, which has understood that neither Interpol nor any other country
00:29will engage in such dirty affairs as political persecution,
00:34the dictatorial system of Hawaii is under criminal articles of ordinary pro-finance.
00:41Nyot is one of the founders of the SOSPAY organization.
00:45The Belarusian regime has labeled it an extremist organization due to its political activities.
00:50This is why Nyot fears that an extradition to Belarus would mean facing repression and torture.
01:21Nyot and his lawyers have lodged an appeal against the Belgrade court verdict that ordered
01:27his extradition to Belarus.
01:29They argue that the court failed to consider the political context of the case.
01:51The Belgrade Center for Human Rights is very familiar with such cases.
01:56They say that Serbia has repeatedly violated the rights of people in the extradition process.
02:20We are not talking about people who are accused of torturing people in their country.
02:25We are talking about people who are either under the responsibility of the asylum office,
02:30or under the responsibility of the Minister of Justice.
02:35The Minister of Justice cannot issue an order if it is a political crime.
02:44While waiting for a final ruling, Andrei has received countless messages of support
02:49all over the world, including from Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
02:54However, if he is extradited, he also faces the threat of being charged by the Belarusian
02:59authorities for all the interviews he has given while under house arrest.
03:03I will fight to the last drop of my blood when the time comes.
03:08The system, the dictatorial system, is very tough.
03:13It is a ruthless and ruthless system.
03:17It should not kill people just because they think differently.
03:23I have never wanted to leave my country.
03:26I love Belarus. I am a Belarusian. I am a true Belarusian.
03:29This is my blood. But the dictatorship took my country away from me.
03:35It's time for Andrei Gnyot to go for a walk.
03:38Under house arrest, he is entitled to go out for just one hour a day.
03:42This semblance of freedom gives him hope that he can still win this battle against the Belarusian dictatorship.