Switzerland. Yury Harauski, former officer of the Belarusian death squad acquitted

The unprecedented trial took place in the canton of Saint Gallen, in the town of Rorschach with a population of less than 10,000. The hearings were held on September 19 and 20, and the verdict was announced on Thursday. The court acquitted Harauski of two charges against him: kidnapping oppositionists and misleading the justice system.

READ MORE: : He claims that he killed oppositionists. He wants asylum in Switzerland

– We took such a scenario into account because the trial took place in a democratic country, where the accused has a chance to be acquitted – unlike Belarus or Russia – Paweł Sapiełko, a lawyer from the Belarusian Center for Human Rights “Vyasna”, told the BBC correspondent.

According to him, the verdict “may be the result of insufficient preparation by the accusing party and procedural reasons, but the verdict does not call into question the very fact that the crime occurred.” In his opinion, Harauski’s acquittal may constitute a cold shower for the institution of universal jurisdiction and the possible consideration of new cases on this basis in Swiss courts.

Harauski was a member of SOBR special forces. He claims that, as a member of the “death squads”, he participated in the kidnapping and then witnessed the murder in 1999 by another officer of three opponents of Lukashenko: former Minister of Internal Affairs Yury Zakharenko, former head of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Viktar Hanchar and businessman Anatol Krasouski.

A former officer of the Belarusian secret services fled the country to Switzerland in 2018 and asked for political asylum there. A year later, he told German broadcaster DW about his involvement in the killings. He maintained that the oppositionists were killed by the unit’s commander, Dzmitry Paulichenko. Then the bodies of the murdered were burned.

These statements became the basis of the case. During the hearing in court, Harauski changed his testimony – although in the interview for DW he said that he gave Paulichenko the gun that he used to shoot all three men, he stated in court that he did not touch the weapon. He also said that he was unaware that three of Lukashenko’s opponents had been kidnapped to be killed.

Justifying the decision, the Swiss judge said it was a case that “involved the authorities” who “were responsible for the disappearances.” – These facts should not raise any doubts. However, during the interrogation, the accused wandered around in his testimony and avoided answering, the judge was quoted by the BBC as saying.

Harauski’s trial was made possible by the principle of universal jurisdiction. It allows perpetrators of serious crimes such as genocide and war crimes to be tried, regardless of where they were committed. It is enough that the accused resides in the country where he is to be tried. One of the most famous trials carried out in accordance with this principle was the trial of the “architect of the Holocaust” Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem – reminds the BBC. Harauski, unlike Eichmann, came to Switzerland voluntarily.

– I am very sorry. (…) Apparently, for the civilized world, this whole story is a crime novel, not reality – Alena Zakharenko, daughter of the murdered head of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was one of the subsidiary prosecutors in the described case, told the BBC.

Before it began, a representative of the Swiss prosecutor’s office explained that the jurisdiction of this country does not extend to murders committed outside its territory (except for cases of genocide and crimes against humanity), therefore the trial does not concern the charge of murder, but of “enforced disappearance”. The relevant article of the Penal Code of Switzerland states that it is carried out at the request or with the knowledge of the authorities or a political organization. Therefore, a possible conviction would indicate the responsibility of the Belarusian authorities.