Ukrainian police opened a criminal investigation after the head of a Belarusian NGO was found hanged on Tuesday near his house in Kyiv, they said in a statement.
Vitaly Shishov was the head of Belarusian House, a non-profit organization based in the Ukrainian capital that helps people fleeing Belarus in order to avoid persecution. Shishov’s partner reported him missing after he didn’t return from a run on Monday morning.
“Police have launched a criminal case under Article 115 of the criminal code of Ukraine (premeditated murder) and will investigate all possibilities, including the possibility of a murder disguised as suicide,†the police statement said.
Authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has overseen a crackdown on the opposition since protests erupted around the country in the wake of an August 9, 2020 election that is widely considered fraudulent. Many activists have fled to neighboring Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania in response.
Shishov was found dead two days after Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya refused to board a plane leaving Tokyo, saying she was forced to go to the airport by her national Olympic team following criticism of its coaching staff. The Olympian said she feared for her safety, and has since been granted asylum by Poland.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said in an interview in the Financial Times published Tuesday that what happened to Tsimanouskaya was part of a broader crackdown on dissent in Belarus. “Since August, dozens of athletes have been jailed, fired and forced to flee the country,†Tikhanovskaya said. “No [Belarusian] athlete can feel safe — neither in Belarus nor abroad.â€