Switzerland Is Considering An Appeal Against The Sentence Handed Down To A Former SOBR Fighter Implicated In The Disappearances Of Lukashenko’s Opponents
1- 22.09.2026, 13:40
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Representatives of the victims are seeking a review of the sentence.
On September 22, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, the appeal hearing began in the case of former SOBR officer Yuri Garavsky, who claimed to have been involved in the forced disappearances of Belarusian politicians opposed to Alexander Lukashenko. This was reported by the publication “Novy Chas”.
A reporter for the publication, present in the courtroom, notes that Yuri Garavsky appears dejected and speaks very quietly.
“You recently got married, is that true?” the judge asked the former Sobor member.
Garavsky refused to answer.
Statements have already been made by the victims’ attorney Severin Walz, the prosecutor, and Garavsky’s attorney.
Walz insists that the cases of Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, and Yuri Zakharenko are inextricably linked. The prosecutor, on the other hand, believes it is necessary to separate the case concerning Gonchar’s disappearance into a separate proceeding and to consider the cases of Zakharenko and Krasovsky separately.
Garavsky’s attorney notes that the court must first and foremost determine whether her client is guilty.
“After twenty years of despair, I have the right to finally get an answer to the question my son has been waiting for me to answer for a quarter of a century. I want the truth and a just verdict, and I want the accomplices in this crime to face criminal charges.
I want the fact that the abductees were killed to be officially documented, followed by an indictment issued at a higher level.
“I am seeking the truth and the rule of law,” said Elena, the daughter of missing former Interior Minister Yuri Zakharenko, before the start of the hearing.
As a reminder, in 2023, the Rorschach District Court in Switzerland acquitted former Special Forces officer Yuri Garavsky of involvement in the forced disappearances of Zakharenko, Gonchar, and Krasovsky and found him not guilty of the charge of obstructing justice.
In explaining the verdict, the judge stated that this was a special case in which “the authorities were involved, and they are responsible for the enforced disappearances.” In the court’s view, Garavsky fabricated some of his testimony. The court concluded that Yuri Garavsky may have served in the Special Forces (SOBR), but his role in the abductions remains unclear: “He may have heard about it from colleagues.”
Representatives of the victims—Elena Zakharenko and Valeria Krasovskaya—filed an appeal seeking a guilty verdict and appropriate punishment for the numerous enforced disappearances, as well as compensation for legal fees.
Garavsky’s defense team requested that the appeal be dismissed.
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