MINSK, 21 July (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko talked about his attitude to attempts at external interference with the work of courts in an interview with the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “There are no independent courts and independent judges. A court always depends on law.” He recalled the well-known saying about the supremacy of the law: “The law is harsh, but it is the law.”
The Belarusian leader explained: “Our president has great powers and coordinates the operation of all branches of government. Through all the decades of my staying in power my coordination was limited to preventing anyone from interfering with court rulings. And when I am told (I keep an eye on it) that someone interferes with the work of courts, the response is tough.”
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, in some situations court verdicts coincide with his opinion and it is absolutely natural. He said: “Why can't opinions of the president and judges coincide? Why? They may coincide in some things and they may differ in other things… Things happen. It is life.”
