Today would have marked Aleh Byabenin's 38th birthday

Founder of charter97.org website Aleh Byabenin was born on this day.

Aleh Byabenin was found hanged in his summer house outside Minsk on September 3, 2010. The law-enforcement bodies hurried to say it was a suicide, but death of the journalist raised many questions.

Forensic experts even say different dates of the journalist’s death. Aleh Byabenin did not leave a suicide note. Friends and colleagues of the journalist state that there were marks of violence on his body.

Representatives of democratic community say about a “political murder”. Aleh was in the team of leader of European Belarus civil campaign Andrei Sannikov – one of Lukashenka’s main rivals at the oncoming December 19 presidential election.

Everyone remembers how confrontation with the authorities ended for some opponents of the regime ahead of the 2001 election – Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski, Henadz Karpenka, Dzmitry Zavadski were kidnapped and killed.