World News @lemmy.world fne8w2ah @lemmy.world 1y ago

Belarusian president signs law granting him lifelong immunity from prosecution | Alexander Lukashenko | The Guardian

www.theguardian.com Belarusian president signs law granting him lifelong immunity from prosecution

Alexander Lukashenko’s law also bars exiled opposition leaders from standing in presidential elections

53 comments

Any leader who has to sign legislation stating they have lifelong immunity from prosecution, probably needs to be prosecuted for the rest of their long life.
- Or, sometimes, their artificially truncated life
- I wonder what other modern politicians are doing that, or are promising to do it if they get elected?
History tells us this always works.
- This law proves that he is innocent of all wrongdoing. :P
  
  Only innocent people make laws like this.
Trump: you can DO that?
- Sure! You just think it. Like how he unclassified all those documents. With His Mind.
- He claims it was already done.. let's see how that plays out.
  
  Also your opponent might just forego pretence and summarily execute you when they catch you or claim themself president and be immune to consequences and imprison you anyway.
- He thought he can only do it on "day one"
Sounds like a sign of weakness, tbh.

He's been in power for a very long time and hasn't needed this before.
Totally the kinda stuff you do when you've been well behaved
And that's how assassination becomes a national hobby.

I mean there was this old Italian guy that tried that a few thousand years ago. I can't remember how it ended.
- I mean there was this old Italian guy that tried that a few thousand years ago. I can’t remember how it ended.
  
  With his adopted son as dictator. Not the best example.
  
  He was also recognized as a god by the Roman state after his death as a stern lesson to all those aspiring dictators out there.
That sounds good and all on paper, but it's really only as binding as the people that come in after him are willing to let it be. I can imagine a law being passed later on just repealing this law and he's right back to square one, assuming he doesn't just hold onto power until he dies and/or Russia doesn't annex Belarus.
- "But.... but but.... I wrote it on a paper, official aper with my signature you have to follow the laaaw!"
  
  I mean, this is the guy whose dream job is Russian Colonel.
  
  Head of state of a theoretically sovereign nation, appears to genuinely aspire to... Being a colonel. One step above what his rank used to be.
Fuck it. I declare myself King of Belarus. Luka will hang by his balls tonight at midnight.
- Where were you when Eran Morad became King of Belarus
  
  I was on Lemmy, reading a comment by Eran Morad.
The thing about laws, is that all it needs to remove them is another law...
- Also: when the law is unjust, the just break the law.
  
  I see lynch mobs in his future. Probably not soon, but eventually.
Very nice! That is a good one! /borat voice
- Totally good and normal 👍
Oh well in that case I grant myself immunity as well from any future prosecution.

That was easy!
- I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!!!
The behind the scenes in Belarus and Russia must be going worse than anyone knows if he feels the need to do this.
- Well, Belarus was already almost in a state of revolution when the russian army came to save Lukachenko. Now the russian army is kinda busy with other stuff
He knows he's fucked up and that the writing is on the wall for him. Putin is on borrowed time and so is he.
He won't be prosecuted in court anyway. It's probably going to be a trial of the ratatatat-tat style like Ceaucescu's. All this does is show how pathetic Lukashenko really is.
Isn't this more or less admission of wrongdoings and criminal activities from his part? Like those monopoly cards to skip the jail.
- Nope. No reason. Just felt like giving himself a little immunity.
  
  As a treat.
This, more than anything else, tells me Russia and it's allies do not have rosey internal forecasts.
- Russia and its* allies
  
  I always think you're doing the wrong job...
  
  It's no tits*
Like any law, it can be rendered null and void by any following government, considering the following executive will not be a puppet.
- considering the following executive will not be a puppet.
  
  Hopefully, but there is never a guarantee.
In the US, we just have a 'gentleman's agreement'.
This is so insane. When a country puts a guy like him behind them, there's no law that can't be changed to remove these kinds of protections and the circumstances at that point tend to exist where "the people" are perfectly OK changing even the most fundamental laws to facilitate getting rid of people like him permanently.

And if they can't get rid of him by law and he's overthrown, that much the more reason to stab him with 50 daggers.
- True, but it still takes time to clean up the mess made by a former leader who goes off the rails.
This is the best summary I could come up with:

The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has signed a new law granting him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and preventing opposition leaders living in exile from running in future presidential elections.

The new measure appears aimed at further shoring up Lukashenko’s power and eliminating potential challengers in the country’s next presidential election, which is due to take place in 2025.

The law significantly tightens requirements for presidential candidates and makes it impossible to elect opposition leaders who have fled to neighbouring countries in recent years.

Belarus was rocked by mass protests during Lukashenko’s controversial re-election in August 2020 for a sixth term, which the opposition and the west condemned as fraudulent.

The law also says the president and members of his family will be provided with lifelong state protection, medical care, and life and health insurance.

“We will ensure that the dictator is brought to justice,” Tsikhanouskaya said, emphasising that there were still about 1,500 political prisoners behind bars in Belarus, including the Nobel peace prize laureate Ales Bialiatski.

The original article contains 416 words, the summary contains 168 words. Saved 60%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
The monkey paw grants your wish, but you die tonight.
Is he stepping down or something?
- Hopefully on a mine.
When you are President for Life, the paths for succession and retirement are limited, and often abruptly enacted. Others will want that lifetime immunity too.
Someone should ask Orange man if he thinks this is a good idea
So he can effectively prostitute whenever he wants?

Lucky man.

53 comments