Ex-Belarus official faces appeal against acquittal over forced disappearances in Swiss court

A former Belarusian security official ​is due in a Swiss court on ​Tuesday as an appeal begins against his ‌acquittal on ​charges of participating in the forced disappearance of opposition figures in Belarus.

A Swiss court acquitted Yuri Harauski in 2023 of involvement in the 1999 disappearance of ‌three men while working in the special police unit SOBR under President Alexander Lukashenko. The case, brought by daughters of two of the disappeared, was the first time a Swiss court ruled on alleged crimes committed in Belarus under ‌the principle of universal jurisdiction.

The appeal is taking place at a cantonal court in the eastern Swiss city of ‌St. Gallen. Harauski had come to Switzerland as an asylum seeker, arguing his life was at risk in Belarus due to his willingness to speak out about what the SOBR unit did.

He had admitted to involvement in the detention of ex-Belarusian interior minister Yuri ⁠Zakharenko, a ​former deputy prime minister, Viktor ⁠Gonchar, and businessman Anatoly Krosovsky, but denied ordering or carrying out their murders. The court ruled in 2023 that Harauski's actual role could not ⁠be considered legally proven because he had made contradictory statements about the matter at various times.

His lawyer was not immediately ​available for comment. The role of the Belarusian government could also not be established beyond reasonable doubt ⁠as it had not been represented in the proceedings, the court said.

The two women who filed the original suit appealed against the decision, ⁠supported ​by the Geneva-based group Trial International, the International Federation for Human Rights and the human rights group Viasna. "This case is the first opportunity in more than 30 years of dictatorship to get some of the ⁠gravest crimes of the regime finally recognised before a court of law," said Alès Bialiatski, director of Viasna.

Lukashenko's government has ⁠in the past rejected ⁠criticism of its human rights record from the UN and rights groups and denies holding political prisoners. If convicted, Harauski could face up to 20 years in prison, the ‌maximum fixed-term sentence ‌in Switzerland.