{"id":105434,"date":"2024-09-18T09:23:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T06:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T09:23:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T06:23:28","slug":"hancar-krasouski-disappearance-marked-lukasenkas-point-of-no-return","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/","title":{"rendered":"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka’s point of no return"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (Viasna)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Death squad with unlimited powers to fight opponents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On September 16, 1999, the former head of the central election commission, Viktar Han\u010dar, and his friend, prominent businessman and public figure Anatol Kraso\u016dski disappeared in Minsk. They walked out of a bathhouse and got into their car, but it never left the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were presumably abducted and killed by members of a death squad. Broken glass and traces of blood were found at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2000, investigators arrested D\u017amitryj Pa\u016dli\u010denka, commander of an elite police unit, in connection with the abduction, but \u0141uka\u0161enka ordered his release. The Belarusian ruler fired the Uladzimir Mackievi\u010d as chief of the Committee for State Security (KGB) and Aleh Ba\u017ee\u0142ka as prosecutor general to put the investigation on hold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other opponents who disappeared around the same time were former Interior Minister Juryj Zacharanka in 1999 and journalist D\u017amitryj Zavadski in 2000. \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s death squad is also suspected of involvement in these crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u016dli\u010denka killed the missing men \u2013 ex-squad member<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Juryj Hara\u016dski, a former member of the SOBR unit under Pa\u016dli\u010denka\u2019s command, confessed in an interview with Deutsche Welle<\/em> to participating in the abductions of Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski and Zacharanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He claimed that Pa\u016dli\u010denka executed the abducted men by shooting. Zacharanka\u2019s body was cremated, and Han\u010dar and Kraso\u016dski were buried at the interior ministry\u2019s training ground, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hara\u016dski gave that interview to in exchange for political asylum in Switzerland. Human rights activists initiated his prosecution for \u201cinvolvement in multiple disappearances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2023, a judge in the Swiss city of St. Gallen cleared Hara\u016dski of the charge, saying that his testimony was inconsistent and citing insufficient evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extermination of crime bosses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Opposition politicians noted that the political opponents disappeared after \u0141uka\u0161enka had issued Pa\u016dli\u010denka\u2019s group with \u201clicense to kill\u201d organized crime leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1990s, after the Soviet Union collapsed, criminal groups took over businesses and crime was on the rise in the new independent states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While organized crime was not as rampant in Belarus as in Russia, \u0141uka\u0161enka dealt with it in a way that was effective but not necessarily in line with the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Towards the end of the 1990s, many of Belarus crime bosses were either killed or forced out of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka made it clear that some crime bosses were \u201celiminated\u201d and mentioned at least one criminal leader, U\u0142adzimir Kle\u0161\u010d by name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 1997, Kle\u0161\u010d aka \u0160\u010da\u016dlik received a phone call from an unidentified person. He went out into the yard to repark his car, and has never been seen since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Belarusian ruler would not comment on allegations that his death squad eliminated his political opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Lithuanian media in September 2009, in response to a journalist\u2019s remark that prominent politicians had disappeared and the criminals had not yet been found, he said: \u201cWhy do you label someone as a criminal without a trial? You are a representative of democratic society, so you should understand that he is a criminal when a court has made a decision. Neither your court, nor ours \u2013 and it must be our court \u2013 has made such a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abductions to be investigated<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka came to power in a fair election in 1994 but immediately took democratic institutions under his control to establish long-term one-man rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He held two constitutional referendums to consolidate his grip and narrowly escaped impeachment in 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus was scheduled to hold its second presidential election in 1999. If \u0141uka\u0161enka had not revamped the political system and postponed the race until 2001, he could have lost it because of his poor performance during the first term. The results of the second election were not recognized by the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years later his opponents went missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some say \u0141uka\u0161enka crossed a red line in 1999 when he ruled out the possibility of a peaceful transfer of power. If he had left, the abductions could have been investigated, and he would probably have been held accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, \u0141uka\u0161enka used all means to hold on to power, probably for fear of prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immunity guarantees were added to the Constitution after the 2022 controversial referendum to make it more difficult to prosecute him after he leaves office. The move is clearly connected with the disappearances 25 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 70-year-old \u0141uka\u0161enka is building a personal safety network to prepare for succession, with an emphasis on the preservation of his legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials seem to be loyal to him, the law enforcers are on high alert, and no surprises are expected during the 2025 poll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s legacy will be under scrutiny anyway. It is only a matter of time before Belarus becomes a democracy and people can vote for their government again. A new government will definitely make it a priority to investigate the disappearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: Hara\u016dski trial: international justice may break cycle of impunity<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death squad with unlimited powers to fight opponents On September 16, 1999, the former head of the central election commission, Viktar Han\u010dar, and his friend, prominent businessman and public figure Anatol Kraso\u016dski disappeared in Minsk. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":104995,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-105434","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHan\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka's point of no return | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka's point of no return | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-18T06:23:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\"},\"headline\":\"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka’s point of no return\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-18T06:23:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-18T06:23:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\"},\"wordCount\":869,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\",\"name\":\"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka's point of no return | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-18T06:23:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-18T06:23:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":840},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka’s point of no return\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Pozirk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Pozirk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka's point of no return | Pozirk","description":"Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka's point of no return | Pozirk","og_description":"Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death","og_url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/","og_site_name":"Pozirk","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","article_modified_time":"2024-09-18T06:23:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1260,"height":840,"url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Pozirk_online","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/"},"headline":"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka’s point of no return","datePublished":"2024-09-18T06:23:26+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-18T06:23:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/"},"wordCount":869,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/","name":"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka's point of no return | Pozirk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-18T06:23:26+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-18T06:23:28+00:00","description":"Belarus could have held democratic election in 1999. Instead, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s opponents disappeared and their whereabouts are not known. Death","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/gonchar_krasovskij_kollazh_vesna.jpg","width":1260,"height":840},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/105434\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Han\u010dar, Kraso\u016dski disappearance marked \u0141uka\u0161enka’s point of no return"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","name":"Pozirk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization","name":"Pozirk","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/cropped-Logo_color_512.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Pozirk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Pozirk_online"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads\/105434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/longreads"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/longreads"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"rubric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rubric?post=105434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}