News on the topic: political disappearances
07.07.2010 10th anniversary of disappearance of journalist Dzmitry Zavadski
10 years ago, on 7 July 2000, the Belarusian TV cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski went missing. In the morning he drove to the National airport Minsk to meet his colleague, journalist Pavel Sharamet, and has never been seen ever since. His car was found in the airport.
05.05.2010 Minsk authorities ban picket in memory of Yury Zakharanka
This time, the authorities motivated their denial in the following way: ‘holding of mass events is not allowed at the distance of less than 200 meters from pedestrian underpasses, metro stations’, ucpb.org informs.
05.05.2010 Inter-Parliamentary Union reminds authorities about disappearance of Hanchar and Krasouski
The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union unanimously adopted the resolution on disappeared Belarusian opposition leaders.
13.10.2009 Aleh Alkayeu speaks about abduction of Belarusian politicians in interview to ‘Salidarnasts’
Aleh Alkayeu’s book Firing Squad includes a number of testimonies that the Belarusian authorities are implicated in abductions of political opponents of the current regime.
08.10.2009 Terms of investigation of disappearance of Yury Zakharanka extended again
As the BelaPAN informs with reference to the human rights activist Aleh Vouchak, the investigation of disappearance of former interior minister of Belarus Yury Zakharanka has been extended till 24 December.
04.09.2009 Relatives of missing oppositionists demand that Lukashenka not be let in Lithuania
The Lithuanian-Belarusian economic forum, which Lukashenka plans to attend, is to open on 16 September. This day Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski were kidnapped ten years ago.
04.09.2009 Minsk authorities banned picket dated to anniversary of disappearance of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski
The United Civil Party office received a written notice about this on 3 September, RFE/RL reports.
01.09.2009 Prosecutor general gives runaround to address of missing politicians’ relatives
On 17 August Zinaida Hanchar (wife of oppositional politician and vice-speaker Viktar Hanchar, kidnapped in September 1999), Volha Zavadskaya (mother of kidnapped cameraman of ORT TV channel Dzmitry Zavadski) and Uliana Zakharanka (mother of kidnapped ex-minister of interior Yury Zakharanka) addressed the Prosecutor General’s office with the demand that by 16 September the Prosecutor General Ryhor Vasilevich reported to the public about the results of the investigation into the disappearances.
09.07.2009 Detention on Lithuanian border
After participation in a rally dedicated to memory of abducted cameraman Zmitser Zavadski the activist of the Young Democrats Raman Bahdanovich encountered problems at the Belarusian border. He was detained by Belarusian border guards.
08.07.2009 Detentions in Brest: police violate ruling of deputy minister of information
The detained participants of a peaceful picket in the memory of the missing cameraman Zmitser Zavadski spent some hours at the police department where printed materials were seized.
07.07.2009 Angela Merkel is required to answer Lukashenka’s statements about abducted opposition activists
The leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Liabedzka has addressed the authorities of Germany with a request to help in investigating the abductions of oppositional leaders in Belarus.
15.05.2009 Prosecutor’s office refuses to inform Zinaida Hanchar on investigation of kidnap of her husband
Zinaida Hanchar, whose husband, opposition politician Viktar Hanchar was kidnapped in September 1999, has been trying to receive information from the prosecutor’s office about preliminary results of the investigation of the case of disappearance of her husband. The prosecutor’s office ignores all requests by her.
09.05.2009 Police beat up participants of 7 May action
Participants of the rally on 7 May were beaten even for a denial to be fingerprinted, though formally this procedure is voluntary.
07.05.2009 Action in the memory of Yury Zakharanka ends with mass detentions
On 7 May at 6 p.m. several hundred people came to an action of commemoration of the ex-minister of interior Yury Zakharanka who has been missing for ten years already. The people were holding the photos of Zakharanka and the photos of the political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich, Uladzimir Asipenka and Yury Liavonau.
07.05.2009 Homel: police warn ‘For Freedom’ coordinator Uladzimir Katsora
On 6 May the police reminded Uladzimir Katsora about administrative responsibility for violation of the law On mass actions that could take place during commemoration of Yury Zakharanka on the tenth anniversary of disappearance.






