Minsk Prosecutor’s Office Doesn’t Estrange Siarhey Kukharonak from Investigation

Iryna Krasowskaya and her representative Hary Pahaniayla demanded from Minsk City Prosecutor’s Office to estrange the investigator Siarhey Kukharonak from the investigation of the disappearances of Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasowski. In their solicitation they pointed out that Siarhey Kukharonak refused to attach a number of important documents to the case that could throw light on the disappearances.

However, the prosecutor’s office didn’t agree with Iryna Krasowskaya and Hary Pahaniayla. On 6 August Iryna Krasowskaya received a letter from Minsk city prosecutor Mikalay Kulik that he had no reasons for the estrangement of S. Kukharonak. What concerns the documents that she and her representatives demanded to attach, they were declared uninteresting for the investigation.

We should remind that among others the wife of the missing businessman asked to attach to the case a copy of the order, issued by the former KGB Head Matskevich to detain Pawlichenka, the commandant of the special police forces brigade who was suspected in the kidnap of Hanchar and Krasowski. He was really detained and even began to testify, but was released after A. Lukashenka’s interference.

The President of Belarus personally spoke about it in the end of 2000. Since that the investigators of the prosecutor’s office have been hushing up the reasons and the circumstances of this detention. These reasons weren’t investigated by the former investigators of the case Novikaw and Chumachenka. Neither had been they investigated by the present investigator Kukharonak. He states that these events won’t add anything to the investigation.

Iryna Krasowskaya considers the decision of Minsk Prosecutor’s Office to leave Kukharona as the investigator of the case of Hanchar and Krasowski an evidence of the attitude the Belarusian authorities have to the case.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Krasowskaya has the intention to complain against the decision of the prosecutor’s office. She says she will do it with the view of proceeding to the European court and presentation there the evidence that the Belarusian authorities are reluctant to investigate the case about the kidnapping of her husband and other missing opposition activists.