Silent Funerals :: Charter'97 :: News

Minsk procuracy halted preliminary investigation into the disappearance of the Vice-Speaker of the 13th Supreme Soviet, one of the leaders of the democratic opposition in Belarus, former government’s Vice-Premier, chairman of the Central Electoral Committee Viktor Gonchar and his companion Anatoly Krasovsky “because of the failure to identify persons, due to be brought to criminal accountability”. “The Belarusian authorities, suspected of implication in the political vanishings, are eager to quietly bury the disappearance cases. Up to date there remain unknown the whereabouts of the former Interior Minister Yuri Zakharenko and ORT cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky,” – commented Anatoly Krasovsky’s spouse Irina on the document, signed by the senior investigator of the procuracy, counselor of justice Vladimir Chumachenko.

- We will surely appeal against the detective’s decision, - “Izvestia” were told by the attorney Garry Pogonailo.

However, in order to continue investigation activities they first need to cancel the decision already passed. It can be nullified either by the investigator himself or by a supervising prosecutor.

- At last, the authorities have legal grounds not to respond to our petitions to interrogate persons, who lay the start for the genuine investigation into the case and paid a high price as a result, - says Irina Krasovskaya: I don’t believe that special services and law-enforcement bodies, which are in abundance in the country, cannot locate four well-known Belarusians. The conclusion is this – they don’t feel like investigating into the case for the authorities’ implication in it is apparent. How can even a senior investigator interrogate prosecutor general, let alone the head of state? However, if the competent Belarusian bodies feel their amateurishness, they should have accepted help, which had been numerously proposed by both the OSCE and USA. However, the Interior Minister turned down all such proposals for no god reason.