Key actors — tap for context
Juryj Harauski
former member of the Belarusian special police unit SOBR, living in Switzerland since 2019
Why here: the court convicted him of the enforced disappearance of Anatol Krasouski
Anatol Krasouski
Belarusian businessman and opposition politician, disappeared in September 1999
Why here: a verdict was handed down over his disappearance
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Jurij Zacharenko
former Belarusian interior minister who joined the opposition, disappeared in May 1999
Why here: the court acquitted Harauski in his case
More info →Viktar Hančar
Belarusian opposition politician, disappeared in September 1999 together with Krasouski
Why here: in his case, the first-instance acquittal remained in force for formal reasons
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Alexander Lukašenko
Belarusian president since 1994
Why here: his opponents disappeared in 1999 and, according to the Council of Europe, the trail led to Minsk
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St. Gallen
a city in eastern Switzerland, seat of the cantonal court
Why here: this is where the verdict was handed down
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Deutsche Welle
German public broadcaster for foreign audiences
Why here: Harauski first spoke publicly about the abductions in its 2019 documentary
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Rada Európy
intergovernmental human rights organization based in Strasbourg
Why here: its 2004 report linked the abductions to a power center in Minsk
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Rorschach
a town in the canton of St. Gallen
Why here: the district court there acquitted Harauski at first instance
More info →Valeryja Krasouská
daughter of Anatol Krasouski
Why here: she called the verdict the first official conviction of someone involved in her father's abduction
Harauski fled to Switzerland in 2019 and applied for asylum. In a documentary by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, as well as before Swiss authorities, he described how, as a member of the special unit SOBR, he was present at the abductions and executions of all three men. According to NZZ, authorities did not rule out that he confessed mainly in order to secure residence in Switzerland as a witness against the regime. Lietuvos rytas ↗ NZZ ↗
The district court in Rorschach acquitted him at first instance for lack of evidence. SRF ↗ According to NZZ, it later emerged that the interpretation during those proceedings had been faulty, and an expert opinion based on a back-translation found more than a thousand errors. The cantonal court has now assessed his confession as credible, since he described numerous details he could not otherwise have known. NZZ ↗
He was found guilty in only one case. In the Zacharenko case, according to the court, he was a newcomer who assumed the opposition politician was only to be intimidated and then released. By the time of the next abduction, he already knew what would follow. In Hančar's case, the first-instance acquittal remained in force for formal reasons, although the court, according to NZZ, is convinced that Harauski is telling the truth in all three cases. SRF ↗ According to the court, a sentence of eight years in prison would have been appropriate, but it was reduced due to his extensive confession and cooperation. Harauski can appeal to the Federal Supreme Court. SRF ↗
According to Reuters, human rights organizations describe this as the first conviction of a member of the Belarusian security forces anywhere in the world. SME ↗ "After 27 years, at least one of the many people involved in the abduction and murder of my father has been officially found guilty," Krasouski's daughter Valeryja Krasouská told NZZ. NZZ ↗
*Illustrative photo: the cathedral in St. Gallen, the city where the verdict was handed down (Pablodbds, Wikimedia Commons, CC0).*
