On October 26, the Court of Appeals of the Canton of St. Gallen issued its ruling on an appeal against the acquittal of former SOBR officer Yury Harauski, who publicly claimed in 2019 that he had participated in the 1999 abductions of Yury Zakharanka, Viktar Hanchar, and Anatol Krasouski.
The court found Harauski guilty of abducting businessman Anatol Krasouski and sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended. The acquittal in the case of Yury Zakharanka was upheld. The acquittal in the case of Viktar Hanchar also remains unchanged: since the appellants are not his close relatives, the appeal did not address this part of the case.
Throughout these years, the Lukashenka regime has failed to conduct a proper investigation, and the fate of Viktar Hanchar, Yury Zakharanka, and Anatol Krasouski remains officially unresolved. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office thanks Alena Zakharanka and Valeryia Krasouskaya, as well as TRIAL International, FIDH, and the Viasna Human Rights Center, for their years of work on this case of significant public interest. The ruling may still be appealed.
Comment by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Leanid Marozau:
“This is an important day for the families of the disappeared and for all Belarusians waiting for justice. After 27 years, a court has found a former SOBR officer guilty of abducting Anatol Krasouski. This is the first conviction abroad for a crime committed by the Lukashenka regime under the principle of universal jurisdiction. It is also a first step toward identifying both those who carried out these crimes and those who organized and ordered them.
This verdict shows that time does not erase responsibility for serious crimes and that the absence of justice in Belarus does not mean impunity will last forever. The people who gave the orders and the whereabouts of the disappeared still need to be established. We will continue to pursue the truth”.
