Belarusian activist Vitaly Shishov found hanged in Ukraine

Belarusian activist Vitaly Chichov, who led a group in Ukraine helping Belarusians escape persecution by the regime of Alexandr Lukashenko seemed dead in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, local police said on Tuesday.

Shishov, leader of the Belarusian House in Ukraine, a Kiev-based group, has been found hanged in one of the city parks near his home, according to a police statement. Police have opened a murder investigation and are investigating whether a suicide attempt had been made, the statement said.

Belarusian House in Ukraine denounced Shichov’s disappearance on Monday went for a run in the morning. Belarusian human rights group Viasna said that according to Shichov’s friends, in recent days he had seen strangers who followed him when he was running.

The organization he led helps Belarusians flee persecution by managing their legal situation in Ukraine, their housing and their jobs.

In recent weeks, Belarusian authorities have increased pressure on non-governmental organizations and independent media, with more than 200 searches of offices and apartments activists and journalists only during the month of July, and dozens of detainees.

Shichov’s death (26) raises UN concern over the deterioration of human rights in Belarus, a spokesperson for the organization said on Tuesday.

Dropout at Tokyo 2020

Another reflection of the persecution on the Lukashenko lands is the asylum request of the athlete Krystsina Tsimanóuskaya. The young woman denounced having tried to send her by force to Minsk after having criticized the Belarusian Olympic committee. The young woman took refuge at the Polish embassy in Tokyo.

In addition to this case, the suicide attempt a few weeks ago in the heart of political prisoner Stepan Latypov in Belarus.

This fact “adds another layer to our worries“on a situation which” is clearly deteriorating in Belarus, “said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, who clarified that this statement does not presuppose the establishment of a link between the Belarusian government and the death of Chichov.

He argued that the situation in Belarus “in general is disturbing», With the constant intimidation of civil organizations, journalists and activists who work for the defense of freedoms.

The government “must stop bullying to anyone who expresses a different opinion and we call for the immediate release of all those who have been arbitrarily detained, ”Hurtado said.

Thousands of citizens have been arrested for coming out to protest for months and peacefully in various cities across the country against the supposed result of the presidential elections a year ago, in which Alexandr Lukashenko was declared the winner by a large majority , during elections described as fraudulent by the opposition and many Western countries.

The spokeswoman said Ukrainian authorities should conduct an iextensive and independent research on the death of Chichov, who was the head of the humanitarian organization House of Belarus in Ukraine (BDU), with which he was helping Belarusians who had fled their country.

His colleagues said they had not heard from him since Monday morning, when he had not returned home after going for a run. The activist told them a few days ago that felt watched and that strangers had tried to converse with him.

According to one of the versions under investigation, it could have been a “death disguised as suicide,” police added.

According to “Belarusian House”, Chichov was forced to leave for Ukraine in the fall of 2020 after participating in anti-government protests in Gomel in southern Belarus in August and “actively opposing” the authorities.

Last week it was confirmed that the Belarusian regime dismantled at least 56 NGOs as part of its policy of persecution against civil society organizations.

Many Belarusians have been forced to flee the country, often to neighboring Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.

The case of Tsimanouskaya

Poland granted a humanitarian visa to Kristina Tsimanouskaya, the Belarusian Olympic athlete who said that her team tried to force her to leave JapanPolish Deputy Foreign Minister said on Monday.

Tsimanouskaya “is already in direct contact with Polish diplomats in Tokyo. She received a humanitarian visa. Poland will do anything to help him continue his sporting careerMarcin Przydacz wrote on Twitter.

“I am asking the International Olympic Committee for help. They are trying to get me out of the country without my permission and I am asking the IOC to get involved,” according to a video recorded on Telegram and verified by the BBC network.

The 200-meter runner had previously criticized the Belarusian committee for forcing her into a relay event on short notice.

The Belarusian Olympic team later announced that they had withdrawn her from the competition because of his “emotional and psychological state”.

The case comes after nearly a year of fierce repression of any demonstration in Belarus, a former Soviet republic located between Russia and the European Union and ruled with an iron fist since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko.

Tsimanouskaya you fear you will be imprisoned if you return to your country, which last year saw thousands of arrests and forced exiles of opponents, as well as the elimination of many independent media.

Attempted suicide in court

In June this year, Belarusian activist Stepan Latypov, arrested last year in connection with massive protests against President Lukashenko, suicide attempt in the courtroom where a lawsuit was being held against him.

After being admitted to a cell in the middle of the court, Latypov took out an object, it is presumed that a pen, from a file containing documents, slipped it down his throat and then he cut his hands.

The image of the bloody activist was uploaded to networks by witnesses to the trial and immediately toured the world. The video shows how the guards could not quickly open the cell he was in because they did not have the keys.

According to the Vesna Center for Human Rights, Latypov denounced that investigators had promised that “if he did not plead guilty”, criminal proceedings would be opened against “relatives and neighbors”.

Latypov, considered a political prisoner, was arrested in September 2020 when he wanted, along with his neighbors, to prevent the removal of the mural depicting DJs who had performed the protest song “Peremen” at a rally in the opposition, shortly before the presidential elections.

Agencies

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