Two days ago, Vasil Hrodnikau, a correspondent for the independent newspaper Narodnaya Volya was found dead, with serious injuries to his head and brain. The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation by Belarusian police. -This is the third violent death among independent Belarusian journalists since 2000, Andrej Dynko (right) editor of Nasha Niva, reminded the audience at a seminar at the Human Rights house in Oslo yesterday. (20-OCT-05)
This article is based on a report published yesterday by the website of the independent Belarusian movement Charter 97. The article has been edited and supplemented for republication here. Photo: Niels Jacob Harbitz.
V.Hrodnikau (left, born in 1938) was found dead on October 18 in the morning in his private house in Zaslaul, Minsk region. As told by the niece of the deceased, Natallya Hrodnikava, at 10.20 a.m. he was found by his brother. The head of V.Hrodnikau was covered with clotted blood. There were blood stains on the wallpaper; a stool was broken. As said by the niece, the house was locked on the inside, windows were undamaged, no traces of housebreaking were found, no values had been stolen. Even so, Vasil Hrodnikau?s brother Mikalay is convinced that Vasil was killed. -They killed him, he says, to AFP. -There was lots of blood on the walls, thefloor, the window. Everything in his house was overtrned. Mikalay did not specify who ?they? are, though.
-Blunt object trauma
What is clear is that Hrodnikau died of a traumatic brain injury. This was made clear to the Belarusian news agency BelaPAN by the department of medicolegal investigation of Minsk regional clinical hospital. As said by the duty doctor, Hrodnikau died a day or two ago. The doctor’s opinion is to be sent to the prosecutor’s office of the Minsk region, which is in charge of this case.
Mikalay Hrodnikau said it was stated in the official documents that Vasil died of a brain injury caused by so-called ‘blunt object trauma’. Beyond this, Mikalay refused to comment on possible causes of his brother’s death before the official results of the investigation by the prosecutor’s office. Zhanna Litvina, leader of the Belarusian Union of Journalists and well known to the Human Rights House Foundation and Network, took the same position, declaring that she would prefer to await further finds before speculating in the cause of Vasil Hrodnikau’s death, and, if the investigation concludes that he was murdered, what the motive and who the murderers might be.
Left, journalist Veronika Cherkasova, stabbed to death 20 October 2004.
Right, cameraman Dmitri Zavadski, disappeared, suspected murdered, 7 July 2000.
