OSCE experts met with friends and colleagues of journalist Aleh Byabenin

Friends and colleagues of Aleh Byabenin do not believe the official story of the journalist’s death.

Two experts who have arrived to Minsk for a few days on invitation from the OSCE, met on October 27 with a coordinator of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Zmitser Bandarenka and a friend of Aleh Byabenin, Fiodar Paulyuchenka.

Zmitser Bandarenka told charter97.org how the meeting took place.

- Zmitser, what have experts asked about? What questions have been asked by them, and what have you told them?

- I and Aleh Byabenin’s friend Fiodar Paulyuchenka have met with the experts invited by the OSCE. They were representatives of Sweden and Norway. First experts expressed condolences to us as we are Aleh’s friends, and they said that they understand it is a great grief. I know that they will also meet with Aleh’s family, they have met with representatives of the prosecutor’s office who examine the official information about the journalist’s death.

Experts were interested in details of Aleh’s case, what we saw at the scene of the tragedy, and they aid that after the preliminary study of the documents offered by the prosecutor’s office, they know that we, Aleh’s colleagues, believe he could not depart the life of his own free will. We believe that it was a murder related to his work as a journalist and his political activities. I told that Aleh had no psychological motives to depart the life voluntarily; he was cheerful and energetic the day before. I told that representatives of law-enforcing agencies who were at the scene of Aleh’s death, said that the death occurred on September 3 at about 2 p.m., that the body was still warm, and there was no rigor mortis, while the forensic expert who did the autopsy, stated that the death occurred on September 2, and the serious injury of the right leg was related to rigor mortis.

I told that the authorities publicized the story of a suicide even before the autopsy and examinations took place, and that threats against Aleh and other journalists of charter97.org website were received since the beginning of this year, and are still received now, and the authorities do not react to that in any way. Byabenin’s death happened just a few days the presidential election was announced, and the only realistic alternative to Lukashenka is the friend and colleague of the journalist, Andrei Sannikov. I told that the prosecutor’s office does not want to carry out real investigation of other versions of Aleh’s death, except the official one, and about other discrepancies in this case.

- What is your impression are these experts going to carry out an objective analysis?

- I know that the experts are to leave on Friday. To my mind, the time is too short for a detailed study of this case. I want to believe in better sides of people. The experts listened to us attentively, they asked detailed questions. Naturally, we talked more, and they were listening. The conversation was held with the help of the interpreter who accompanied the experts, and in presence of our interpreter. And I can say the translation quality was high.