Death of Andrei Zeltser

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andrei Zeltser in his apartment, holding a shotgun and glancing at the camera.

Andrei Zeltser, a Belarusian IT worker, was killed in Minsk on September 28, 2021 by members of the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian KGB) who conducted a raid on his apartment. After a door breaching, a shootout took place, in which Zeltser fatally shot one of the agents, and was subsequently killed by the KGB members.[1][2] Zeltser was subsequently called a "terrorist" by the government.[3] According to the state-owned Belarusian Telegraph Agency, "members of an extremist group with ties to the opposition, supposedly, lived in the apartment", referring to Zeltser, 31, and his wife, who was arrested.[4][5]

Andrei Zeltser[]

Andrei Zeltser (Belarusian: Андрэй Зельцэр; Russian: Андрей Зельцер) was an opposition supporter and has been described as a dissident.[4][a] According to a media report, on August 16, 2021 he posted an image of the white-red-white historical flag of Belarus (which has been used as a symbol of the opposition to the regime of Alexander Lukashenko) and "made a call to the people to unite and fight for the future of the country".[8] He worked for EPAM Systems, a Pennsylvania-headquartered software engineering company started by Belarusians.[9] There was speculation that Zeltser was a citizen of the United States; a U.S. official said that more information on this is being sought.[10]

Aftermath[]

An edited video of the incident, which was recorded on multiple cameras,[11] was broadcast by Belarus state TV channels.[3][b] This was followed by arrests of more than 100 people in connection to social media comments about the event, on charges of insulting a government official or inciting social hatred.[13][14][15] Among the arrested was journalist  [ru], a correspondent of the Belarusian version of Komsomolskaya Pravda (KP v Belorusi). Mozheiko was detained in Moscow and sent to the Okrestina Detention Centre in Minsk. The Daily Telegraph reported on an allegation that he was subject to extraterritorial abduction in Moscow, by Belarusian agents; the official Belarusian account is that he was arrested in Belarus, upon crossing the border.[16] He was jailed for publishing an article about Zeltser, where a former classmate recalled Andrei as a nice person. Mozheiko's article was published on September 28, 2021, and was deleted the next morning. The website of Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus was blocked by authorities on the same day;[17] the newspaper ceased its operations in Minsk.[18][19] Russia expressed dissatisfaction over these developments, based on an expectation that work of "[their] media outlets" would not be interfered with, while also citing freedom of the press.[14] Nevertheless, the Belarusian authorities charged Mozheiko with 'whitewashing a criminal'.[20][21][16] As of October 16, 2021, Mozheiko is charged with 'inciting hatred' and 'an insult to a representative of the authority' under the articles of the State Criminal Code.[22]

On 1 October 2021, at the funeral of the KGB officer killed during the raid, Major General Oleg Belokonev publicly called for murdering members of the opposition as a revenge against hypothetical killings of state security officials:

In what families were these people raised? I think we deal too gently with them and the suchlike. For some reason they do not act in a lawful manner, and we try to do everything within the scope of the law; [we try] to talk to them within the limits of the law, to persuade them within the limits of the law, to reason them within the limits of the law. One should follow Putin’s words and ‘waste them in the sh*thouse’[c] – 20, 100 persons for one our guy as a lesson to everyone else… So that no one was offended. It may be rude, but honest,”[24]

Lukashenko held a minute's silence to honor the agent who was killed, and said that the government would "not forgive them [opposition supporters] for the death of this guy."[1]

Prominent opposition activist Pavel Latushko said that "a fair investigation (of the incident) is impossible under Lukashenko", and: "Not only Andrei Zeltser — a calm, kind and compassionate man — has been declared a terrorist. All of those who disagree with the regime have been declared terrorists."[14]

By November 3, 2021, more than 136 people are detained for 'trying to whitewash' Zeltser's name in social networks. For more than a month people are denied access to lawyers, human rights activists tell media that the administration of jails forbid to send them basic necessities.[25]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Opposition website Charter 97[6] establishes Zeltser as an author of a 'manifesto in which he called on those who disagree with the award of victory to Alexander Lukashenko to "go to the end"'.[7]
  2. ^ According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "It's not clear if the way the video was edited accurately presents the true sequence of events."[12]
  3. ^ In 1999 Vladimir Putin said: "if we capture them [Chechen rebels] in the toilet then we will waste them in the outhouse"[23]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Belarus conducts mass arrests in wake of fatal shooting". DW. October 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Belarus opposition says man killed in shootout was IT worker". Reuters. September 29, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Belarus mass arrests as Lukashenko cracks down after shooting". BBC. October 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Belarus blocks news site after deaths of dissident, KGB". Associated Press. September 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Man shot dead by Belarusian KGB worked for US software firm". The Guardian. 2021-09-30. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  6. ^ "Belarus Restricts Access To Opposition Website Charter 97". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. January 25, 2018.
  7. ^ "The Choice Of Andrei Zeltser". Charter 97. October 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "In Minsk, IT manager Andrei Zelzer was shot dead. Authorities said he killed a KGB officer". BBC (in Russian). September 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "Belarus detains 100 people after KGB shootings: Rights group". Al Jazeera. October 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "Man killed by Belarus security forces worked for U.S.-based EPAM -firm". Reuters. September 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Что не так с видео перестрелки между сотрудниками КГБ Беларуси и IT-менеджером Зельцером". BBC (in Russian). September 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Gunfight In Minsk: Doubts Raised About Dramatic Video As Two Killed In KGB Raid". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. September 29, 2021.
  13. ^ "Belarusian security forces detain 50 people over social media posts on Minsk shooting: rights group". Reuters. September 30, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "Belarus detains dozens after KGB agent and opposition supporter killed in shootout captured on camera". CBS. October 1, 2021.
  15. ^ Isachenko, A. (2021-10-08). "Новое уголовное дело TUT.by, массовые задержания за посты о Зельцере: главное в Беларуси за неделю" [New Criminal Case on TUT.by, Mass Detainment for Comments about Zeltser] (in Russian). BBC Russia. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  16. ^ a b "Belarus risks Kremlin's wrath after 'abducting' pro-Putin journalist from Moscow". The Daily Telegraph. October 12, 2021.
  17. ^ Novikova, A. (2021-10-02). "Пропал в Москве, нашелся на Окрестина" [Disappeared in Moscow, Found in Okrestina] (in Russian). Novaya gazeta. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  18. ^ "Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda daily closes its Minsk office". TASS. October 5, 2021.
  19. ^ "Belarusian authorities detain journalist over interview about Andrey Zeltsar". Belsat. October 3, 2021.
  20. ^ "Pro-Government Reporter Detained in Moscow, Held in Belarus – Activists" (in Russian). The Moscow Times. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  21. ^ ""За убийство столько не дают": коллеги о задержании журналиста "Комсомолки" за статью о Зельцере" ['They Give Less for Murder': Colleagues Worry about Journalist, Detained for Article on Zeltser] (in Russian). BBC Russia. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  22. ^ Romashenko, S. (2021-10-06). "Главред "Комсомолки": Журналиста Можейко принудили вернуться в Минск" (in Russian). Komsomolka's Chief Editor Says Mozheiko Was Returned to Minsk by Force. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  23. ^ "Vladimir Putin: From mean streets to perpetual power". The Times of Israel. March 17, 2018.
  24. ^ "Pro-Lukashenka Gen Belakoneu: It'd be good to kill 20 or 100 persons as reprisal for KGB officer's death". Belsat. October 1, 2021.
  25. ^ "Интерпол отказался разыскивать Светлану Тихановскую; Путин и Лукашенко утвердили союзные программы. Главное в Беларуси за неделю" [Interpol Refuses to Search Tikhanovskaya; Putin and Lukashenko Approve Joint Programmes. Main from Belarus] (in Russian). BBC. 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2021-11-05.

External links[]

Stub icon

This Belarus-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""