On 13 August 2021, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that the allegations were unsubstantiated statements used to justify political pressure on Belarus under the pretext of human rights concerns. The Government stated that the Public Association Human Rights Centre Viasna is a liquidated legal entity since a Supreme Court decision in 2003 and their activity is prohibited. The Government noted that some individuals associated with Viasna were investigated by the Investigative Committee of Belarus in February 2021 in a case under article 342 of the Criminal Code for allegedly violating public order. As such, searches were carried out at the places of stay of some of these individuals and they were found to have been involved in criminal activity under article 342, as well as under article 243 (tax evasion).