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Agence France-Presse

A missing Belarusian activist has been found hanged in a park in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, police said on Tuesday, adding they had opened a murder investigation.
Vitaly Shishov, 26, headed the Belarusian House in Ukraine, an NGO helping his compatriots flee repression in Belarus.
Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has been cracking down on any form of dissent since mass protests erupted after last year’s elections, deemed unfair by the West.
Many Belarusians have fled, often to neighbouring Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.
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“Belarusian citizen Vitaly Shishov, who had gone missing in Kyiv yesterday, was today found hanged in one of the Kyiv parks, not far from where he lived,” police said in a statement.
Police said they had opened a murder investigation and would pursue all leads including a possible “murder disguised as a suicide”.
The Belarusian House in Ukraine accused the Lukashenko regime of being behind the murder of Shishov.
“There is no doubt that this is an operation planned by Chekists to liquidate a Belarusian who presented a true danger to the regime,” the NGO said in a statement, referring to security service agents.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is keeping a close eye on the case, according to his spokesman, Serhiy Nykyforov, while Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba promised on Twitter that “Ukraine will do everything possible to fully investigate the case.”
“It is of utmost importance for us to reveal the truth about his tragic death,” Kuleba said.

The activist went jogging in Kyiv on Monday morning but did not return and could not be reached on his mobile phone.
Shishov’s Belarusian girlfriend, Bazhena Zholudz, told Associated Press that she does not believe that he could have killed himself.
“I don’t believe in suicide, nothing in Vitaly’s conduct signalled his intention to kill himself,” she said. “He didn’t leave any note or message. We were together that morning and he just went out for a jog.”
Zholudz added that Shishov had recently noted that he was being shadowed. “He recently noted vehicles and people who were following him,” she said.
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The Belarusian House in Ukraine, which helps Belarusians fleeing persecution with their legal status in Ukraine, accommodation and employment, also said that Shisov was recently being followed by strangers.
It noted that “both local sources and our people in Belarus” have alerted the group to the possibility of “various provocations, including kidnapping and liquidation.”
Belarusian House in Ukraine spokesman Yury Shchuchko told Associated Press that Shishov was found with marks of beating on his face. “Nothing was stolen, he was in regular clothes people put on to work out, and he only had his phone with him,” Shchuchko said.
“There is no doubt that this was a planned operation by security operatives to liquidate a Belarusian, dangerous for the regime. We will continue to fight for the truth about Vitaly’s death,” the group said.

About 300 people rallied on Tuesday outside the Belarusian Embassy in Kyiv, many holding Shishov’s portrait.
Shishov moved to pro-Western Ukraine in the autumn of 2020, after joining anti-government protests in Belarus, and helped establish the Belarusian House in Ukraine.
The NGO said that Shishov had been involved in everything from helping fellow compatriots to settle in Ukraine to staging anti-regime protests.
The group also said that it had repeatedly received warnings about possible “provocations, including kidnapping and liquidation.”


Friends of Shishov said he had been followed by “strangers” while jogging recently, human rights organisation Viasna has said.
Belarusian authorities have used force to put down historic demonstrations against Lukashenko’s rule and have been trying to snuff out remaining dissent, jailing university students and shutting down independent media.
Shishov’s death came as Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said over the weekend she was forced to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics and threatened with forced repatriation for criticising her athletics federation.
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The sprinter, who was granted a humanitarian visa by Poland on Monday, said she feared being jailed if she returned to her country.
Her husband Arseny Zdanevich said on Monday he had fled from Belarus to Ukraine and was hoping to join his wife “in the near future”.
Lukashenko sparked international outrage in May by dispatching a fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair plane flying from Greece to Lithuania to arrest a dissident on board.
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Belarus

Missing Belarus activist Vitaly Shishov found hanged in Kyiv park after he went jogging

Protesters unfurl a banner in the colours of the former Belarus national flag in Minsk in 2020. File photo: Bloomberg

epa09392492 Belarusians living in Ukraine along with their supporters and Ukrainian activists burn flires during a rally in memory of dead Belarusian activist Vitaly Shishov in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, 03 August 2021. The body of missing Belarusian citizen Vitaly Shishov was found hanged in one of Kiev's parks on 03 August 2021, police said. EPA-EFE/STEPAN FRANKO

epaselect epa08606971 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko addresses his supporters during a rally in Minsk, Belarus, 16 August 2020. Long-time President Lukashenko is under mounting pressure after unrest erupted in Belarus over alleged poll-rigging and police violence at protests following election results claiming that he had won a landslide victory in the 09 August elections. As unrest continued in the country as of 15 August, Lukashenko sought the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin asking assistance in the event of external military threats to Belarus, media reported. Opposition leader Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania after rejecting the election results she claimed was rigged. Following the deathly crackdown on protesters, EU foreign ministers, during a video conference in Brussels on 14 August, approved sanctions against responsible officials in Belarus. EPA-EFE/YAUHEN YERCHAK

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Vitaly Shishov led an organisation that helps Belarusians fleeing persecution
He had told friends he was followed by ‘strangers’ while jogging recently



Vitaly Shishov had told friends he had been followed by ‘strangers’ recently.


Ukraine

Missing Belarus activist Vitaly Shishov found hanged in Kyiv park after he went jogging

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Vitaly Shishov led an organisation that helps Belarusians fleeing persecution He had told friends he was followed by ‘strangers’ while jogging recently

Vitaly Shishov led an organisation that helps Belarusians fleeing persecution

He had told friends he was followed by ‘strangers’ while jogging recently