A groundbreaking trial has commenced in Switzerland, featuring a former member of an elite Belarusian police unit accused of orchestrating the disappearances of political
adversaries of President Alexander Lukashenko nearly a quarter-century ago.
Yury Garavsky, aged 44, is facing trial in the northeastern Swiss canton of St. Gallen. He is charged with involvement in the enforced disappearances of three prominent political opponents of Lukashenko in 1999.
The case is significant because Garavsky provided a sensational interview to German media in 2019, claiming he had been a member of the Belarusian interior ministry's SOBR special forces unit, which he alleged executed the three missing opponents two decades earlier.
This trial is unprecedented as it represents the first time a Belarusian national will stand trial for enforced disappearance based on universal jurisdiction, allowing the prosecution of grave crimes regardless of where they occurred. It also marks the first time that the alleged offense of enforced disappearance is being tried in Switzerland.
In 2021, after confirming Garavsky's residence in St. Gallen, TRIAL International, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Belarusian rights group Viasna filed a criminal complaint with the regional prosecutor. The victims' families also filed a separate complaint.
The trial is seen as historic and precedent-setting, with implications for the prosecution of such crimes globally. Belarusians have faced severe repression under Lukashenko's rule, with numerous political prisoners and allegations of human rights abuses.
The trial could potentially extend to those who ordered the crimes, including Lukashenko himself, according to experts. Independent United Nations experts welcomed the trial, emphasizing the importance of universal jurisdiction in combating impunity for gross human rights violations.
Belarus remains isolated on the international stage, particularly since allowing Moscow to use its territory for its Ukraine offensive. The country currently has over 1,500 political prisoners. Photo by Hanna Zelenko, Wikimedia commons.