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Yury Zakharanka | |
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| Юрый Захаранка | |
| Minister of Internal Affairs | |
| In office 28 July 1994 – 16 October 1995 | |
| President | Alexander Lukashenko |
| Prime Minister | Mikhail Chyhir |
| Preceded by | Uladzimir Danko |
| Succeeded by | Valiantsin Ahalets |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-01-04)4 January 1952 Vasilyevichy,Soviet Union |
| Political party | United Civic Party of Belarus |
| Spouse | Volha Zakharanka |
| Children | two daughters |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union Belarus |
| Branch/service | Law Enforcement |
| Rank | Major general (1994) Colonel (1996) |
| Commands | Inter-regional Directorate for Combating Organized Crime |
| Disappeared | 7 May 1999 (aged 47) |
| Status | Missing for 25 years, 3 months and 9 days |
ColonelYury Mikalevich Zakharanka (Belarusian:Юрый Мікалаевіч Захаранка;Russian:Юрий Захаренко,romanized: Yuri Zakharenko; 4 January 1952 – disappeared 7 May 1999) was a Belarusian military officer, politician, and pro-democracy activist who served asMinister of Internal Affairs from 1994 to 1995. Following his departure from office, Zakharanka became a leading member of theBelarusian opposition, leading to hisenforced disappearance and likely death in 1999.
Yury Zakharanka was born in a smallBelarusian town ofVasilyevichy,Rechytsa Raion. His parents met in a labor camp inCologne, Germany, in 1943. His father was Belarusian while his mother was of Ukrainian origin.[1]
Zakharanka has a daughter with Volha Zakharanka.[2]
At the moment whenBelarus gained independence Zakharanka was deputy chief of the USSRMVD Inter-regional Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. In 1994 he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus. On October 16, 1995 he was dismissed from this position by presidentAlexander Lukashenko. Zakharanka joined the opposition to the president and was elected member of the governing board of theUnited Civic Party of Belarus.[3] Having strong support among top officers in the army and theState Security Committee (KGB)[citation needed], Zakharanka was a dangerous enemy for Lukashenko.[opinion]
The ex-ministerdisappeared on the evening of May 7, 1999. The state did not make serious attempts to search for the politician. Several years later the former MVD official Aleh Alkaeu fled to Germany and stated that he was witness to Zakharanka and several other abducted opposition leaders being murdered on the orders of top government officials.[4][5] In commemoration of the abducted politicians and political prisoners of Belarus, the Belarusian opposition and its supporters haveThe Day of Solidarity with Belarus on the 16th of every month.[6]
In September 2004, theEuropean Union and theUnited States issued travel bans for five Belarusian officials suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of Zakharanka: Interior Affairs MinisterVladimir Naumov, Prosecutor GeneralViktor Sheiman, Minister for Sports and TourismYuri Sivakov, and ColonelDmitry Pavlichenko from the Belarus Interior Ministry.[7]
In December 2019,Deutsche Welle published a documentary film in which Yury Harauski, a former member of theSpecial Rapid Response Unit, confirmed that it was his unit that had arrested, taken away and murdered Zakharanka, and that they later did the same withViktar Hanchar and Anatol Krasouski.[8] Harauski fled toSwitzerland in 2018, seeking asylum.[9] In 2023 Harauski was arrested and charged with the forced disappearance of Zacharanka, Hanchar and Krasouski.[9] Harauski's trial opened on 19 September 2023, but was acquitted as the crimes could not be established beyondreasonable doubt.[9][10]
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