Minsk dwellers reminded about disappeared politicians (Photo)

An action dedicated to the International Day of the Disappeared was held in the capital of Belarus today.

Activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus” pasted leaflets about the disappeared Belarusian politicians in Minsk streets, jeans-by.com reports.

According to We Remember initiative and Zmitser Zavadski Foundation, about 20 people were kidnapped or died under unclear circumstances in Belarus in 1999–2000. Among them are former vice speaker of the Supreme Council of Belarus Viktar Hanchar, public figure and businessman Anatol Krasouski, kidnapped in Minsk on September 16, 1999. Former interior minister Yury Zakharanka disappeared on May 7, 1999. ORT camera operator Zmitser Zavadski was kidnapped in the Minsk airport on July 7, 2000.

The kidnappings took place from spring 1999 to summer 2000, ahead of the Belarusian presidential elections held on September 9, 2001. The US State Department demanded to carry out careful investigation of disappearances of Zakharanka, Hanchar, Zavadski, and Krasouski. Officers of the Belarusian law enforcement bodies are suspected of organizing abductions.

A number of high-ranking Belarusian officials, including former interior minister Uladzimir Navumau, former secretary of the Security Council Viktar Sheiman, former minster of internal affairs Yury Sivakou, former commander of rapid response forces Dzmitry Paulichenka, suspected of involvement in disappearances of oppositionists, are barred entry into the EU countries and the US.