Acquaintance Of Belarusian BAM Bombing Suspect: Siarhei Stayed In The Country To Fight

In 2020, Siarhei Yerameyeu supported a nationwide strike.

Last week, details became known about a Belarusian who is accused of blowing up two trains on the Baikal-Amur Mainline in Buryatia. This is 52-year-old Siarhei Yerameyeu from the Vitsebsk region. The man took part in the national strike in November 2020, when he worked at Naftan. Journalists from the Zerkalo website managed to find an acquaintance of Yerameyeu and talk to him about a man who “tried to solve everything peacefully.”

“When they sent me this news, I was just silent for a while. Until recently I thought it wasn’t him, but when I saw the blurry video... It’s 100% Siarhei, and his voice is 100%,” says Aliaksei. “Siarhei tried to resolve everything peacefully. Maybe he was already tired of nothing being resolved... We discussed this with our other friends. A lot of people still don’t believe that it’s him. They think this is some kind of setup or something else. But in the video, even though his face was blurred, I recognized him immediately.”

Aliaksei and Siarhei worked together at Naftan and met at the Belarusian Independent Trade Union in 2020. At that time, Yerameyeu was an instrument operator in the instrumentation and automation service and in November he joined the nationwide strike.

“When we went on strike, we communicated closely with Siarhei. We saw each other constantly, almost every day. As far as I know, he worked at Naftan all his life. This is the kindest person I have ever met,” his acquaintance describes Yerameyeu. “If there were any conflicts or something else, he never joined anyone. On the contrary, he tried to reconcile everyone. Very responsive, helped all the time. He is one of the best mechanics in Navapolatsk. He is well versed in engines and in general all the mechanisms of cars.”

A few weeks after the strike, Aliaksei and Siarhei were fired from Naftan. In November 2021, Aliaksei left Belarus, and Siarhei remained in the country. The men kept in touch — they called each other about once a month. The last call was in mid-October this year.

“At that time he was in Belarus. In Polatsk or Navapolatsk. Although I asked him to leave many times... I told this not only to him, but also to everyone who showed up at least a little in 2020,” says Aliaksei. “But he insisted that he was not going to leave, that at least someone needed to stay, fight, educate people. He talked with Belarusians, told how things really are if a person is suddenly far from this. Apparently, he believed that he was preparing the ground for the future. During our calls, we usually discussed the news. He has many acquaintances, he told us what was happening in the country.”

As far as Aliaksei knows, Yerameyeu changed his residence addresses and phone numbers so that the law-enforcers would not touch him because of his activity in 2020.

“Since I left, I haven’t heard of him being taken away for administrative detention. Before that, in my opinion, they didn’t pull him either,” explains the interlocutor. “If they write that he is an individual entrepreneur, then most likely he repaired cars. We didn't really discuss family. I only saw two of his children.”

In court, Yerameyeu admitted guilt in the BAM bombing. Whether Siarhei really did this and why, Aliaksei does not know. As well as how he ended up in Russia.

“You know, I now have several friends who are at the front, fighting for Ukraine. When I met them and talked to them, I would never have thought that they would go there,” he says. “We communicated with Siarhei about the war only in the context of what it means for Belarus. What will happen to our country if, for example, Putin leaves.”

Was Yerameyeu worried about what was happening in Ukraine? Aliaksei says yes, as well as about the whole situation in our country.

“He was worried from the very beginning of the events in Belarus. Why did he go on strike? Because he took things to heart. He is a very empathetic and good-natured person,” explains the friend of the Belarusian man.

As for the arrests that took place in Polatsk in connection with the sabotage at BAM, Aliaksei says that he does not know any details about this.

“I just noticed that people in Belarus, with whom we had common chats, where we discussed some news, began to leave there after these events,” the interlocutor shares his observations.