Aleh Byabenin

Aleh Mikalayevich Byabenin (c. 1974 – September 3, 2010) was a Belarusian journalist, known for his involvement with the political opposition news website Charter 97 in Minsk. He was its co-founder and director. Byabenin was also the campaign press secretary and friend of Andrei Sannikov, who was the former deputy foreign minister and an opposition candidate in the 2010 Belarusian presidential election. Byabenin was hanged to death in 2010, which drew widespread reactions.

Early and personal life Aleh Byabenin was born in Kostroma, Soviet Union. He had a wife and two young sons. Byabenin resided in the village of Pyarhurava near Minsk, Belarus with his family. He is buried in the Eastern Cemetery in Minsk.

Career In the 1990s, Aleh Byabenin works as the deputy chief editor of Imya, an independent newspaper.

Death Before his death, Aleh Byabenin's strong reporting towards the government had made him into a target, such as being abducted in 1997 and subjected to a mock execution and he was attacked in 1999 by right-wing activists. He had also received many anonymous death threats on his Charter 97 website in the months prior to his death.

On September 3, 2010, Aleh Byabenin was found hanged in the stairwell of his summer home in Minsk, Belarus. His brother discovered his body after he stopped returning phone calls. OSCE experts concluded the autopsy findings clearly point to the cause and manner of death being suicide by hanging.

Context The Belarusian opposition sticker with an emblem of "European march" on a rain gutter around 2007.Shortly before his death, Byabenin joined the campaign team of friend and presidential candidate, Andrei Sannikov, who was running against Alexander Lukashenko in the 2010 elections in Belarus.

Impact Aleh Byabenin was the founder and leader of a pro-opposition news website in Belarus called Charter 97. He was also a very important member of friend Andrei Sannikov's campaign team for the 2010 elections.

Reactions Amnesty International formally requested an independent investigation in the case.

Souhayr Belhassen, president of the International Federation of Human Rights, said: "The fact that Mr. Byabenin had repeatedly been subjected to pressure and intimidation in the previous years for his activities as an independent journalist is indeed particularly worrying. A transparent investigation has to be opened on the circumstances of his death."

Andrei Sannikov said he had no confidence in the official investigation: "It's impossible in this situation of dictatorship. Eleven years have passed since the first disappearances began in Belarus and nothing was investigated."

Mike Harris, public affairs manager for Index on Censorship, who was in Belarus at this time, said, "The Presidential election must take place before February next year. The screw is tightening the screw on human rights organisations, with arrests and mock executions of youth activists. This death (Byabenin's) has sent shock waves through civic society across Belarus."

Byabenin's family and friends do not believe that he committed suicide, but that he was targeted by authorities for his opposition of president, Alexander Lukashenko.

Zmister Bandarenka, a coordinator for the Charter 97 website, said, "Byabenin was my friend, a real journalist, and a real man. We were together in many difficult situations, and among our team, he was always a center of stability. There was no reason for him to end his life, as the police have said. We absolutely don't believe it. He was one of the pillars of online journalism, and certainly he will be sorely missed by all of us."