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Vitsebsk Kurapaty: Police Found no Crime in Theft of Crosses

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Vitsebsk Kurapaty: Police Found no Crime in Theft of Crosses

Investigators found no thief who had damaged a people's memorial of victims of Stalin repressions next to Khaisy village near Vitsebsk.

In response to the statement regarding five missed Memorial crosses a member of the conservative Christian Party Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) Ian Dziarzhautsau received notification from the police that the criminal case had been denied, Radio Svaboda reports.

The police see no crime in damaging of handmade memorial. In corresponding articles of the Code only historical and cultural monuments could be considered as infringed ones. Crosses installed by activists of BPF's activists on their own initiative do not fall within the list of such objects.

According to investigators, actions of an unknown vandal cannot be defined as "abuse of a corpse or grave". The place near Khaitsy village is the burial place of people, the status has not been determined yet.

Four of five stolen crosses were found after a while and, therefore, damage incidence is not enough to initiate criminal case. In his application the activist stated that crosses had cost BYR500 thousand. Four crosses were returned, and the cost of the last one does not exceed 2 basic units. Therefore, there are no grounds for a criminal investigation, the police say, but they promise that if the thief is found, he will be drawn up protocol against.

For almost two months, the police have not found those who broke crosses and dragged them from the place of installation and hid them in forest. The police say that they questioned earlier convicted, as well as alcohol abusers. Inhabitants of neighbouring villages, search group, who excavated a mass grave near Khaitsy village, workers of Losvidy forest division and Mazolava Village Council were questioned as well.

Further actions of the police are unknown. Ian Dziarzhautsau insists on the need to continue the search of the guilty ones as well as on information about remains found in forest.

According to locals, in the 1930s there were held executions. It is the place where hundreds of unknown were buried.

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