Anatol Sciapanavič Krasouski (, , 12 May 1952 – disappeared 16 September 1999) was a Belarusian businessman, teacher, and opposition politician. Alongside his friend
Viktar Hanchar, he
disappeared and was presumably murdered in 1999.
Career
Krasouski was the publisher of several newspapers.
Alongside Hanchar, he publicly criticized
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...
for falsifying the results of the
1996 referendum, which expanded the president's powers.
Disappearance
Krasouski
disappeared in
Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
on 16 September 1999, along Hanchar. Pieces of broken glass and blood were found on the supposed site where Hanchar and Krasouski had been last seen. On 5 December 2002, they were officially declared missing by the court. In January 2003, the Chief Prosecutor of Minsk suspended the criminal investigation into the disappearance of Hanchar and Krasouski.
According to the former head of jail number 1
Oleg Alkaev (Aleh Alkaeu), Hanchar and Krasouski were abducted and executed on the order of people close to President Lukashenko. Investigation of the disappearance of Hanchar and Krasouski is one of the main issues of the Belarusian opposition, and is also mentioned in the documents of international organizations.
In September 2004, the European Union and the United States issued travel bans for four Belarusian officials suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of Hanchar: Interior Affairs Minister
Vladimir V. Naumov, Prosecutor General
Viktor Sheiman, Minister for Sports and Tourism
Yuri Sivakov, and Colonel
Dmitri Pavlichenko from the Belarus Interior Ministry.
For several years the Belarusian opposition has organized the
Day of Solidarity with Belarus
A Day of Solidarity with Belarus () is an action proposed by the Belarusian journalist Iryna Khalip, supported by the civic initiative ''We Remember'' and the ''Zubr (political organization), Zubr'' movement.
:''Let us all together switch off ...
on the 16th of every month to commemorate the disappearance of Hanchar, Krasouski,
Jury Zacharanka,
Dzmitry Zavadski
Dmitry Alexandrovich Zavadsky () or Dzmitry Aliaksandravich Zavadski (; 28 August 1972 – declared dead 3 December 2003) was a Belarusian journalist who disappeared and was presumably murdered in 2000. Zavadsky worked as journalist and cameram ...
, and the mysterious death of
Hienadz Karpienka.
In December 2019,
Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
published a documentary film in which Yury Harauski, a former member of the
Special Rapid Response Unit, confirmed that it was his unit that had arrested, taken away and murdered pro-democracy activist
Yury Zakharanka, and that they later did the same with Viktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski.
Harauski fled to Switzerland in 2018, seeking asylum.
In 2023 Harauski was arrested and charged with the forced disappearance of Zacharanka, Hanchar and Krasouski.
Harauski's trial in a Swiss court opened on 19 September 2023.
See also
*
List of people who disappeared
References
External links
Kidnapping of Hanchar and Krasouski: authorities have something to hide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasouski, Anatol
1952 births
1990s missing person cases
Belarusian publishers (people)
20th-century Belarusian politicians
Missing people
Enforced disappearances in Belarus
People from Krupki district