Restricted to travel abroad Navumau allowed entering Switzerland

The former Belarusian Interior Affairs Minister is suspected of implication in abductions and assassinations of oppositional leaders and a journalist.

On May 6 in Bern semifinal game of the hockey tournament took place. Russia beat Belarus 4-3. During TV broadcasting of the game Belarusian fans saw the former Interior Minister, the head of the Belarusian hockey federation Uladzimir Navumau (Naumov).

As the Charter’97 press-centre informed before, the well-known Swedish and Belarusian human rights activists addressed the leadership of the Swiss hockey federation with a call not to allow Navumau visiting Switzerland.

“We address the Swedish federation in order to influence its Swiss colleagues and not to invite the head of the Belarusian hockey federation Uladzimir Navumau (Naumov) to the world championship. We also solicit Swiss government not to allow Navumau to enter Switzerland,” the human rights watchdogs write in their letter. The address has been already published by some Swedish newspapers.

As is known, Belarus is one of the candidates for holding world hockey championship in 2014. The final decision of this issue is to be adopted at the International Hockey Federation congress on May 7-9 during the world championship in Switzerland. On May 7 contenders are to hold their final presentations, and on May 8 voting is to take place.

Uladzimir Navumau, the head of the Hockey federation of Belarus and the former minister is suspected of being involved in grave human rights violations, in particular, abductions and assassinations of 4 Belarusian oppositionists, including the former Interior Minister head Yury Zakharanka, vice- premier Viktar Hanchar, a businessman and public leader Anatol Krasouski and journalist Zmitser Zavadski. He went missing on May 7, 1999. He is on the list of the Belarusian officials banned from entering The countries of the EU and the US. Though Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it had supported sanctions of the European Union against some Belarusian politicians.