"It is worrying that those fleeing Belarus are still not safe," wrote Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya on Twitter on Tuesday morning.

Shortly before, it became known that the Belarusian Vitaly Schischow, who had gone into exile in Kiev and had been missing the day before, was found dead.

According to the Kiev police, the head of the exiled group "Belarusian House in Ukraine" was discovered hanged in a park near his home.

Investigations are also in the direction of a murder disguised as suicide.

In the afternoon, the police confirmed the statements of members of Schischow's organization that the twenty-six-year-old had scratches on his nose, knees and chest.

Sofia Dreisbach

Editor in politics.

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His girlfriend sounded the alarm on Monday when Schischow did not return from jogging and his cell phone was unavailable. The young Belarusian left his homeland in autumn 2020 after taking part in the protests against the fraudulent presidential election on August 9. In a statement on his death, the organization wrote on Tuesday that there was "no doubt that this is a planned operation by the Belarusian security forces to liquidate a person who is really dangerous to the Belarusian regime".

According to the deputy head of the "Belarusian House in Ukraine", Shishev and his girlfriend had reported that they had been strangers to people who followed them and that they had been observed several times from cars in front of their home. "We were warned of provocations, even of possible kidnappings and murders," said the organization. There was a case similar to Schischows last year in Belarus. In August, ten days after his disappearance, a young man was found hanged in a forest outside Minsk. He had previously taken part in the demonstrations against dictator Alexandr Lukashenko.

The organization “Belarusian House in Ukraine” helps exiled Belarusians to find accommodation, residence permits and jobs. According to research by the Belarusian section of Radio Liberty, however, she is also said to have connections to Belarusian Sergei Korotkich, who received Ukrainian citizenship for his participation in the far-right Azov volunteer battalion. Korotkich has regularly participated in the organization's events since last November, according to the Ukrainian online medium Zaborona Media.