Ihar Rynkevich

Who is Ihar Rynkevich?

Ihar Rynkevich is a prominent Belarusian legal and political expert, journalist and human rights champion. Mr. Rynkevich is a member and the press secretary of the Belarus Helsinki Commission since 1996 and Vice Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Popular Accord.

Mr. Rynkevich is best known for his role as lead defence counsel for Alaksandar Kazulin, former Chairman of BSDP and one of the most prominent Eastern-European human rights activist, and for advocating the release of American lawyer Emanuel Zeltser and his assistant Vladlena Funk during the U.S. - Belarus hostage crisis in 2008-2009. In an interview, Mr. Rynkevich, described Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk as "political prisoners" and noted that it was the "lack of evidence" against Mr. Zeltser and Ms. Funk that prompted the country’s authorities to hold the hearing behind closed doors. Mr. Rynkevich noted that "violence" had been used against the accused in custody in breach of international treaties signed by Belarus. "This is yet another shameful case for the Belarusian judiciary for which more than one generation of Belarusian legal experts will blush" said Mr. Rynkevich. "Belarus cannot have any grounds for holding them here except for the protection of someone else's interests" he added.