Swiss court finds Belarusian man guilty over disappearance of Lukashenko opponent
The ruling follows testimony that senior Belarusian officials ordered the abductions, and rights groups called it the first conviction of a Belarus security member.
- On Monday, a Swiss court found former Belarusian security officer Yuri Harauski guilty of abducting businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, an opponent of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
- Harauski previously confessed in a 2019 Deutsche Welle interview to abducting three people while working for the SOBR police unit in 1999, though a Swiss court acquitted him three years ago citing insufficient evidence.
- Following an appeal by the victims' daughters regarding his 2023 acquittal, the court determined Harauski's confessions were credible, specifically regarding his intent and knowledge of the violent abduction of Krasovsky.
- Harauski received two years on probation for his cooperation, marking the first conviction of a Belarusian security force member globally; lawyer Severin Walz stated "An accountability gap has been closed."
- While the court acquitted Harauski regarding the kidnapping of Belarusian Interior Minister Yuri Zakharenko due to unestablished intent, the verdict remains subject to appeal at the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
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16 Articles
<p>In Switzerland, for the first time, a Belarusian security guard was convicted for the kidnapping of Lukashenko's opponent Yuri Harauski, who was found guilty of kidnapping businessman Anatoly Krasovsky. He received two years conditionally after collaborating with by investigation.</p>
Human rights groups say the decision marks the first conviction anywhere in the world of a member of Belarus' security forces. The post Swiss court finds former Belarusian officer guilty of kidnapping opponent of President Lukashenko appeared first on in.gr.
Swiss court finds Belarusian man guilty over disappearance of Lukashenko opponent
A Swiss court on Monday found a former Belarusian security officer guilty over the abduction of businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, an opponent of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
An ex fighter named the men who gave the order.
In the first instance proceedings, the Belarusian had been acquitted in Rorschach because of a lack of credibility. He now receives a conditional prison sentence of two years.
A Swiss court has found former Belarusian security officer Yuri Garavsky guilty of kidnapping businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, who opposed the regime of dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Garavsky was given a two-year suspended sentence.
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