Belarusian activist Vitaly Shishov was found hanged in a park in the Ukrainian capital after going missing for a day, police announced on Tuesday, explaining that they have opened a murder investigation. The "Belarusian House," a non-governmental organization led by Shishov that assists citizens wishing to flee repression in Ukraine, has accused President Alexander Lukashenko's regime of being behind his death.
The police stated in a message that "Belarusian citizen Vitaly Shishov, who went missing in Kyiv yesterday, was found today hanged in one of Kyiv’s parks, not far from where he was staying." An investigation into the murder has been launched, and they confirmed that they would explore all leads, including "a murder disguised as suicide."
The activist went out for a run in Kyiv on Monday morning but did not return, and attempts to contact him on his mobile phone were unsuccessful. The human rights organization Viasna reported on Telegram, citing Shishov's friends, that "strangers" had followed him during his recent runs.
The "Belarusian House" organization held security forces responsible for his death, claiming it was part of an "organized operation" aimed at "eliminating a person perceived as a threat to the Belarusian regime." Lukashenko has intensified his crackdown on all forms of opposition since the unprecedented protests that erupted last year.
Many Belarusians have fled their country, often to Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania, amid a fierce repression campaign in Belarus, a former Soviet republic ruled by Lukashenko with an iron fist since 1994. This comes after Belarusian athlete Kristina Timanovskaya announced she was forced to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics and was threatened with forced departure from Japan for criticizing her country's athletics federation on social media. Poland granted humanitarian visa to the Belarusian athlete, who said she fears imprisonment if she returns home.
