MINSK — 1999 · Missing Person
The Disappearance of Viktar Hanchar
Viktar Hanchar, a former deputy chairman of Belarus's Supreme Soviet and an opposition politician, vanished without trace in Minsk on the evening of 16 September 1999 together with businessman Anatol Krasouski. Broken glass and traces of blood were found at the scene. The disappearance came in a year when other opposition figures also went missing. The investigation was suspended in 2003, and in 2004 the EU and US imposed travel bans on four Belarusian officials. In 2019 a former special police unit member told Deutsche Welle his unit had carried out the abductions; tried in Switzerland, he was acquitted in 2023. The bodies were never found.
- Date
- 1999
- Place
- Belarus, Minsk, BY
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 53.9050, 27.5550 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 16 September 1999Hanchar and Krasouski vanished; blood was found at the scene.
- 2003The Belarusian investigation was suspended.
- 2004The EU and US imposed travel bans on four officials.
- December 2019A former special unit member spoke to DW.
- September 2023He was acquitted at trial in Switzerland.
Sources
- DW — Belarus: How death squads targeted opposition politicians dw.com ↗
- BBC News — Former Belarus 'hit squad' member on trial in Switzerland bbc.com ↗
- Deutsche Welle
- BBC News
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.