Police puts pressure on friends of kidnapped Natalia Sheleh’s

The children are being told that the daughter of one of the leaders of Babrujsk entrepreneurs was not kidnapped, but she left home herself.

Viachaslau Sheleh claimed that in an interview to BelaPAN.

Doctors preliminary diagnosed his daughter – underage Natalia Sheleh – with a “light cerebral injury”, the girl is having a nervous breakdown and her nose has been bleeding for two days.

Investigative agencies are investigating the criminal case, initiated according to the article “hooliganism”, because of the fact of violent actions towards 16-year old Natalia Sheleh, a daughter of Viachaslau Sheleh, an entrepreneur from Babrujsk, who is also a member of the organizational committee for creation of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party. She was kidnapped and beaten by unidentified persons on 27 July. According to Viachaslau Sheleh, unidentified people stroke Natalia on the head during her morning exercise, and then as the girl lost conscience, they took her into a forest 20 km away from Babrujsk, where they left her, having smeared her with black paint. Sheleh links the incident with an attempt by special services to put pressure on him so he abstains from political activities.

According to the investigation, it follows from the testimonies of the victim and her father that at the end of June this year two unidentified men threatened the girl with physical violence at the entrance to her house and demanded that she stopped communicating with her peers.

A number of expertise has been set on the case, investigative activities are being undertaken, aimed at finding out the circumstances of the incident, the Investigatory Committee’s statement says.

“Doctors almost do not communicate with me, which means they apparently received the respective instructions. They do not answer questions at all”, - Viachaslau Sheleh said, having noted that so far he could not tell for how long his daughter would stay at the hospital.

“To what extent the injury is light is still a question. Her nose has been bleeding for two days, I do not think it is light”, - the victim’s father noted. In his opinion, the strike on the back of daughter’s head was, probably, backhanded by a strong man, since there are no scratches or bruises.

“The doctor was also not able to tell me how it was possible that having went unconscious at 7 a.m. she only regained conscience at 8. How did she spend an hour unconscious? This could, probably, be an very strong strike, or some chemical substance for keeping her unconscious. I spoke with doctors that I know, and they said that depending on the specific personal features a person stays unconscious for up to 15 minutes after a strike, but not for an hour especially being moved”, - he said. Viachaslau Sheleh added that the daughter was experiencing a nervous breakdown, and she was given sedatives, a psychologist’s help would, probably, be required.

The victim’s father does not agree with the fact that the crime against his daughter have been qualified as hooliganism.

“Is kidnapping treated as hooliganism in our country? I think, if Lukashenka’s son had been kidnapped, a different article would have been used. Apparently we, simple mortals, are not worth of detailed investigations”, - he noted.

Viachaslau Sheleh said that police was at the moment questioning the children and teenagers, familiar with his daughter.

“Children keep calling, saying that police came or summoned them and put pressure on them. They are being told that the child left herself and no one kidnapped her”, - the oppositionist said.