Aleh Byabenin
Encyclopedia
Aleh Byabenin was a Belarus
ian journalist. He was the founder and director of the Minsk-based pro-democracy news website Charter 97
. He was also the campaign press secretary and friend of Andrei Sannikov
.
Byabenin was a leading journalist in Belarus
. During the 2010 presidential elections in Belarus, Byabenin was a key member of leading opposition candidate Andrei Sannikov
's campaign. He was also director and co-founder of Charter97, which was one of the few outlets for information on "opposition" candidates during the election.
On September 3, 2010, late on Friday afternoon, Byabenin was found hanged
in the stairway at his summer house on the outskirts of Minsk
. Belarusian authorities claimed that Byabenin had committed suicide. Sannikov expressed suspicion of the "suicide". Byabenin left no suicide note and none knew any health problems. His friend Dmitry Bandarenko, who saw the body, told that Byabenin's right ankle was badly wrenched and that he had unexplained bruises on his left hand, chest, and back. Sannikov also stated he had no confidence in the official investigation: "It's impossible in this situation of dictatorship. Eleven years have passed since the first disappearances began in Belarus and nothing was investigated."
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian journalist. He was the founder and director of the Minsk-based pro-democracy news website Charter 97
Charter 97
Charter 97 is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a human rights group taking its inspiration from the declaration.The document - whose title deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declaration Charter 77 twenty years earlier - was created on the anniversary of a referendum...
. He was also the campaign press secretary and friend of Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...
.
Byabenin was a leading journalist in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. During the 2010 presidential elections in Belarus, Byabenin was a key member of leading opposition candidate Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Sannikov
Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...
's campaign. He was also director and co-founder of Charter97, which was one of the few outlets for information on "opposition" candidates during the election.
On September 3, 2010, late on Friday afternoon, Byabenin was found hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in the stairway at his summer house on the outskirts of Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. Belarusian authorities claimed that Byabenin had committed suicide. Sannikov expressed suspicion of the "suicide". Byabenin left no suicide note and none knew any health problems. His friend Dmitry Bandarenko, who saw the body, told that Byabenin's right ankle was badly wrenched and that he had unexplained bruises on his left hand, chest, and back. Sannikov also stated he had no confidence in the official investigation: "It's impossible in this situation of dictatorship. Eleven years have passed since the first disappearances began in Belarus and nothing was investigated."
See also
- Belarusian democracy movementBelarusian democracy movement-Background:Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994. United Nations Human Rights Council noted that Belarusian political system is “incompatible with the concept of human rights”.- Charter 97 :...
- Belarusian presidential election, 2010
- Charter'97
- Andrei SannikovAndrei SannikovAndrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of...