The Gang: Belsat TV movie claims Belarus regime involved in kidnapping critics of Lukashenka
19 years ago Viktar Hanchar, ex-Chairman of the Central Election Commission, and businessman Anatol Krasouski disappeared.
The then Chairman of the Central Election Commission became outraged over the violations during the 1996 referendum and refused to accept its results. Hanchar’s resistance to the unconstitutional actions cost him his post. Pursuing his aim, Alyaksandr Lukashenka dismissed the legitimate Supreme Soviet of the 13th convocation and fired Hanchar. His position was taken by Lukashenka’s loyal supporter Lidziya Yarmoshyna.
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In 1998, Viktar Hanchar led an alternative Elections Committee during the presidential elections of 1999, organised by the opposition as a protest against Lukashenka’s constitutional reforms, which posed a threat to the first and still the only Belarusian President’s autoritarian power. Anatol Krasouski provided financial backing to the opposition movement.
Hanchar and his associates initiated the impeachment of the president, but the process was stopped due to the pressure on the deputies and Russia’s interference. Three years later, he disappeared in puzzling circumstances.
On September 16, 1999 Hanchar andKrasouski left a bathhouse in Minsk. They were seen in Fabrychnaya Street at about 22:35 last. Later, windscreen fragments of Krasouski’s car were found there. Moreover, blood was identified on the glass fragments. A genomic examination defined with a probability of 99.9998% that it belonged to Hanchar.
In 2000, Police General Mikalai Lapatsik made a classified report to the then Interior Minister Uladzimir Navumau:
“The catch and further elimination of Zakharanka [opposition politician who disappeared before] was carried out by a group of soldiers led by Dzmitry Paulichenka (the commander of military unit 3214). A similar operation was carried out by Paulichenka and his group on 16.09.1999 to catch and kill Hanchar and Krasouski. The planned place of burial is a special plot on Paunochnya Cemetery.”
Former chief of the Minsk detention facility No 1 Aleh Alkayeu stated that oppositionists Hanchar, Krasouski and Zakharanka were killed from a special execution pistol that was given at an order of former minister of internal affairs Yury Sivakou.
After an investigative group, consisted of officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB and prosecutor agencies, had caught the traces of kidnappers and arrested special rapid response squad commander Dzmitry Paulichenka, the Prosecutor General Aleh Bazhelka and the KGB Head Uladzimir Matskevich were ousted.But soon Paulichenka was released by a personal order of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. In fear of being persecuted, Alkayeu and Bazhelka had to leave Belarus.
The city prosecutor’s office suspended the investigation into their case in 2003. The families, human rights defenders and opposition activists believe that the kidnapping might have been politically motivated and top Belarusian officials might have had a hand in it.
