Mass media of Germany: Danger was hovering over independent journalists of Belarus long ago

• 6.09.2010, 12:51

The death of Aleh Byabenin causes great concern, Sueddeutsche Zeitung writes.

As Sueddeutsche Zeitung writes, the official authorities say that it had been a suicide. Forensic medicine experts confirmed that even without that the Prosecutor General’s office found that the most probable version was that Aleh Byabenin had decided to commit suicide. His wife was greatly worried on Friday, as Aleh Byabenin was to be in summer house, but he didn’t answer the phone. That is why she sent people to check the summer house which is situated not far from Minsk. They found the Belarusian journalist dead. He was hanged, with two empty bottles of alcohol drinks beside.

Byabenin was 36, and now his acquaintances and colleagues are puzzling their brains trying to understand why he had done that. Had he depression? A suicide note has not been found. That is why Natalya Radzina doubts the official version about the suicide. “How can the Interior Affairs Ministry make such comments when there are no findings of the medicolegal investigation?” asks the editor of the website critical to the government. The online edition had been founded by Byabenin and worked under his direction.

In an interview to Echo of Moscow radio station, Russia, Radzina told that Byabenin and his family and children returned from a holiday in Greece a week before. “We wanted to meet on Monday, he had so many plans, he was a cheerful person, he had no problems in family life or with his health”. This Belarusian journalist was a member of a team of Andrei Sannikov, a politician who recently stated that he would represent “European Belarus” in the presidential elections, and would contest Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Sannikov also doubts that it was a suicide. As said by him, Byabenin had received threats, and he was attacked previously. “In his last SMS he invited friends to the cinema. No variants should be discarded,” he noted.

Sannikov is against the anti-Russian policy of the authoritarian leader Lukashenka, which will seek reelection not later than the beginning of the next year. “We need Russia,” emphasizes his opponent in the upcoming elections, but he also in favour of Belarus’ joining the EU. Byabenin wanted to help his old acquaintance Sannikov to achieve change of power.

For many years the web-site founded by Byabenin was a platform for the democratic movement of Belarus, the country where oppositional politicians and parties undergo pressure by the authorities. Journalists critical of the regime had been facing danger since long ago, though “Reporters without borders” last year came to a conclusion that the situation has slightly improved after the dialogue with the European Union became more intensive”.

According to the evaluation of this organization, for the first time Russia took a lower position than Belarus. However Minsk cannot boast of it anyway. The reason is, this country occupies the 151st position in the world, and experts of “Reporters without borders” do not dare to say “whether this trend would continue. The death of Aleh Byabenin can increase their doubts.