A Swiss court on Monday convicted a former Belarusian security officer in connection with the abduction of businessman Anatoly Krasovsky, a prominent opponent of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in a landmark case involving international human rights law.
Yuri Harauski, who previously admitted involvement in the late-1990s disappearances of three high-profile critics of the Lukashenko regime, was found guilty regarding Krasovsky. However, the court acquitted him of charges related to the kidnapping of former Belarusian Interior Minister Yuri Zakharenko. Following the verdict, Harauski was sentenced to two years of probation in Switzerland. The court noted that his sentence was significantly reduced due to his cooperation and comprehensive confession.
Human rights organizations hailed the decision as a watershed moment, describing it as the first conviction anywhere in the world of a member of Belarus’ security forces for such abuses. The ruling followed an appeal brought by the daughters of two victims, who challenged Harauski’s initial 2023 acquittal by a lower Swiss court.
Harauski first drew international attention in a 2019 media interview where he confessed that, while serving in a special Belarusian police unit known as SOBR in 1999, he participated in the detentions of three regime opponents who were subsequently killed. During the initial 2023 trial, a Swiss court ruled that his alleged role had not been legally established due to inconsistent statements he had made over time.
In Monday’s ruling, the court reversed course on one of the counts, determining that Harauski’s recent confessions were credible. Judges concluded that in the case of Krasovsky, Harauski’s intent and direct knowledge of the violent abduction and ensuing murder were sufficiently clear. Conversely, the court found that the necessary intent could not be legally established in the separate case involving Zakharenko.
Philip Grant, founder of the human rights organization Trial International, which backed the legal efforts of the victims’ daughters, praised the outcome. Even as a partial victory, Grant emphasized its historic nature as the globe’s inaugural judicial conviction of a Belarusian security force member.
Legal experts noted that the proceedings mark the first time Swiss courts have utilized the principle of universal jurisdiction to try charges of enforced disappearance and alleged crimes committed inside Belarus. Meanwhile, the government of President Alexander Lukashenko has consistently rejected international criticism regarding its human rights record from the United Nations and advocacy groups, and denies holding political prisoners.
Severin Walz, the attorney representing the daughters of both Zakharenko and Krasovsky, expressed satisfaction with the judicial outcome. An accountability gap has been closed, Walz said, adding that his clients feel profoundly relieved by the ruling. Defense counsel for Harauski did not immediately provide comment following the decision, which remains subject to one further appeal before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
