Families of the Disappeared Sue KGB Head

02.04.2004.

Families of the Disappeared Sue KGB Head

On 2 April Centralny borough court of Minsk received a complaint against Leanid Yeryn, head of the Belarusian KGB, reports RFE/RL.

The complaint is signed by families of the abducted opposition figures: Sviatlana and Volha Zavadski, Zinaida Hanchar, and Iryna Krasowskaya. Human rights defender Aleh Volchak, representative of Volha Zakharanka, signed the complaint on her behalf. The authors of the complaint ask the court to institute proceedings against Yeryn for covering up a crime. They believe, Leanid Yeryn does not perform his duty to disclose the crimes against Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, and Anatol Krasowski.

In the end of January the families of the disappeared opposition figures addressed the KGB with the request to launch investigation into Zakharanka, Hanchar, Krasowski, and Zavadski disappearance cases earlier investigated by the Prosecutor’s General Office. The relatives argued the prosecutor’s office investigators had no chances to uncover the truth for many reasons, including the fact that according to them one of the main suspects is the acting Prosecutor General Viktar Sheiman. However, the families of the disappeared have never got any reply from the KGB.

Incidentally, the letter filed by the families of the disappeared to the KGB has ostensibly disappeared as well. Its fate remained unknown even after an inquiry to the KGB Center of Information and Public Relations. Its head Alexander Bazanaw told RFE/RL:
'' Our Center has no information about that. I know nothing either about their letter or documents. That’s why, unfortunately, I cannot comment on that".

Meanwhile, the families’ representative Harry Pahaniayla insists that the request has been filed to KGB and registered according to the procedure. The KGB should have reacted one month ago. Harry Pahaniayla believes, the KGB failed to instigate the action.
The families of the disappeared plan to sue the top Belarusian officials suspected of crime cover-up in international court. They have ostensibly chosen a court in one of the European countries. However, potentialities to find the truth in Belarus have not yet been exhausted. Now the families of Zakharanka, Hanchar, Krasowski, and Zavadski are going to wait for reaction of Centralny borough court on their claim against the KGB chief.