The man was accused of enforced disappearance and misleading the administration of justice. The judges saw contradictions in the statements.
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Swiss court to judge Lukashenko hitman
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Yuri Harauski goes on trial in a Swiss regional court on September 19 for the enforced disappearances of three opposition figures in 1999.
Certain descriptions are simply absurd, argued the presiding judge in the verdict announced orally on Thursday afternoon. The facts have not been proven. It is possible that the accused wanted to have a positive influence on his asylum decision with the dramatic descriptions.
The alleged member of a Belarusian special squad was the first person to be charged with enforced disappearance in Switzerland. At the trial last week, the public prosecutor’s office demanded a guilty verdict and a prison sentence of three years, one year of which was unconditional.
When applying for asylum in 2019, the 45-year-old defendant stated that he was involved in the murder of three opposition politicians on behalf of the regime of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
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‘Lukashenko hitman’ denies charges in Swiss court
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On the second day of a Swiss trial against a media self-confessed Belarusian state assassin, the defendant pleaded innocent.
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