Is video-provocation being prepared against Mikalai Autukhovich?

A confession of a “witness” “in the case of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk” will soon be shown on the Belarusian Television.

To all appearances, it is the fourth person arrested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, information about whom is unknown for public.

“The witness is behind the bars for an attempt against one of the politicians,” a source told “Belorusski Partizan”. “A grenade gun and some assault riffles were found in his apartment during the search. The man is a former bodyguard of Mikalai Autukhovich. As far as I know, video of confession of this man has been already prepared. It is clear that his confession will be against Autukhovich, Lyavonau, and Asipenka. The “case of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk” is conducted by the same investigator who is responsible for the case of Minsk blasts on July 4...”

“Mikalai has never had a bodyguard, it’s nonsense,” Alena, Mikalai Autukhovich’s wife, commented on the information.

But human rights activist Aleh Vouchak, who was asked to comment on this information, doesn’t exclude this may happen.

“We have started out independent investigation, we check any information we can find,” he says. “From the very beginning we have known there will be “witnesses” who will say that Autukhovich is involved in the crimes. We also know that these “witnesses” have problems with law, and the militia use them in exchange for indulgences. If video will be go public, the “witness” will be shown or “without a face” or from his back. It seems strange for me that a term of detention was prolonged by the prosecutor general himself or by deputy prosecutor general. Though the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Autukhovich, Lyavonau, and Asipenka had been detained for arsons in the Vaukavysk district. Have you ever seen a prosecutor general supervising arsons in regions?! Besides, this case is investigated by high raking officials – a chief investigator of the investigatory department of the Hrodna region executive committee, an investigator of the main department on organized crime of the Ministry of Internal Affaires of Belarus... that’s why I suppose that only the minister of internal affairs could have ordered Almaz group to detain. It means that he knew the situation and took responsibility upon himself. I have looked through the documents. There are no a shadow of explosive agents in the search report. Even if “witness’s confession” is shown to us, it will be a failure of the operation. It is not the democratic forces, who should have organized a press conference yesterday, but the Prosecutor’s Office, which is keeping silence. In this case this silence and doubts are good for the accused people. What concerns Autukhovich’s bodyguard, as far as I know, he has never had a bodyguard. Mikalai was at war in Afghanistan and was able to defend himself. He used to tell: “I am honest, and an honest man has nothing and nobody to fear.”