Prosecutor General Refuses to Comment On High-Profile Cases :: Charter'97 :: News

The Prosecutor General of Belarus Pyotr Miklashevich rarely speaks to journalists. And independent journalists are not invited to press conferences from time to time organized by the Prosecutor’s office. The Prosecutor General has appeared in the Oval Hall [in the parliament] for the first time. He presented the scandalous draft law “On Corruption Fighting”. It is surprising that even representatives of official mass media had to take pains to ask some questions to Miklashevich. He was avoiding talking with the press. A correspondent of the “Narodnaya Volya” managed to ask several questions to the prosecutor general literally on the run.

- Mr Miklashevich, could you please tell how the cases on forcible abductions of Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski and Dzmitry Zavadski are investigated?

- The process of investigation of these cases continues, but unfortunately, guilty persons have not been found…

- Are you sure that they will be found?

- This is our work, to find malefactors eventually.

- At what stage the case of former head of the national Bank Tamara Vinnikava is? Is it closed or suspended? Is she still on the wanted list?

- Vinnikava? There will be a press conference summarizing the results of our work.

- Now the last question. Mr Miklashevich, what is your attitude to the fact that the “Narodnaya Volya” and many other independent newspapers are excluded from subscription catalogue? You must be reading independent press…

- Everything is decided in the procedure prescribed by law.

- But what is your personal opinion on this matter? Your opinion as a common citizen, not an official?

- I would like to hold back from giving my personal opinion…