Missing Belarus Dissident Found Hanged In Ukraine Park

A missing Belarusian dissident was on Tuesday found hanged in a park in Ukraine, with police opening a murder probe and supporters accusing the regime of Alexander Lukashenko of killing the activist who helped his compatriots flee repression

Kiev (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Aug, 2021 ) :A missing Belarusian dissident was on Tuesday found hanged in a park in Ukraine, with police opening a murder probe and supporters accusing the regime of Alexander Lukashenko of killing the activist who helped his compatriots flee repression.

Vitaly Shishov, 26, headed the Belarusian House in Ukraine, an non-governmental organisation, and was involved in everything from helping fellow compatriots settle in Ukraine to staging anti-regime protests.

Belarus strongman Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has been cracking down on any form of dissent since mass protests erupted after last year's elections, deemed unfair by the West.

Many Belarusians have fled, often to neighbouring Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.

"Belarusian citizen Vitaly Shishov, who had gone missing in Kiev yesterday, was today found hanged in one of the Kiev parks, not far from where he lived," the police said in a statement.

The police said they had opened a murder probe and would pursue all leads including a possible "murder disguised as a suicide".

Activist Oleg Ovchinnikov told AFP that Shishov had bruises on his face and a broken nose when he was found in the woods on the outskirts of Kiev.

An AFP journalist saw several police cars and dozens of police at the scene, some carrying black bags.

The Belarusian House in Ukraine accused the Lukashenko regime of being behind the murder of Shishov.

"There is no doubt that this is an operation planned by Chekists to liquidate a Belarusian who presented a true danger to the regime," the NGO said in a statement, referring to security service agents.

The activist went jogging in Kiev on Monday morning but did not return and could not be reached on his mobile phone.

Shishov moved to pro-Western Ukraine in the autumn of 2020, after joining anti-government protests in Belarus, and helped establish the Belarusian House in Ukraine.