The head of a group helping people fleeing Belarus has been found dead near his home in neighbouring Ukraine. Vitaly Shishov’s body was found in Kiev a day after he did not return from a jog. Police have opened a murder investigation.
Police stated they are probing whether he was killed and that his death looks like suicide.
Shishov led the Belarussian House in Ukraine and helped people who had left Belarus amid a police operation.
Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania – neighbours of Belarus – are the main destinations for that fleeing persecution following the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020.
Friends of Shishov reported that he had been followed recently, Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Gizcan said in a tweet on Monday.
The Belarusian house in Ukraine is offering support to new arrivals to find housing, jobs and legal advice, the website said.
Meanwhile, a Belarusian athlete who competed in the Tokyo Olympics obtained a compassionate visa from Poland after denying her team’s order to travel home early.
Sprinter Krystina Timanovskaya, 24, stated she was forcibly taken to the airport because she criticized coaches, and she expressed concern for her security.
Earlier this year, there was an global outcry over the arrest of opposition Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich and his partner after the Ryanair plane they were moving in was forced to land and land in Belarus.
Police said they found Shishov’s cellphone and personal items from the scene.
They ask everyone who knew him to make contact with any report about the last few weeks of his life, about his position of mind and potential risks to his life.
Mr Shishov left his home on early hours of Monday and is believed to have gone jogging daily as his walking equipment was later not found there, colleagues at the Belarussian House in Ukraine (BHU) stated.
He made several calls from his phone, but each time hung up when they were answered, they added.
His colleagues did their own search in the woods where he usually runs.
Yuri Shchuchko told Current Time TV that police say Shishov has marks on his face, indicating he was beaten.
Shchuchko said Ukrainian security officials and police had warned the BHU privately about threats to activists.
“They said we had to take care of ourselves because a Belarusian KGB network (secret police) is active here, and anything is possible,” Shchuchko said.
The BHU said in a statement: “We have been repeatedly warned by local sources and our people in Belarus about possible provocations, up to kidnapping and assassination. Vitaly responded to the warnings with stoicism and humour.”
The disputed presidential election last August was the catalyst for a fierce battle against the opposition to Lukashenko’s government. He has been in power since 1994.
Major protests in the streets continue for weeks after the disputed vote, which according to Belarus dissidents and Western governments, was said to be in Lukashenko’s favour.
The protests were brutally broken up by the police, and thousands were detained.
The United Nations has since said that Belarus has experienced an ‘unprecedented human rights crisis. The UN and human rights groups say they have many reports of police violence being used against protesters, cases of forced disappearances and allegations of torture.