Siarhei Navumchyk

Who is Siarhei Navumchyk?

Siarhei Navumchyk is a Belarusian journalist and politician.

Navumchyk was born in Pastavy into a family of a Soviet state serviceman. In 1984 he graduated from the journalism faculty of the Belarusian State University in Minsk.

Navumchyk was member of the parliament of Belarus in 1990 - 1995 and one of the key members of the fraction of the Belarusian Popular Front.

On April 12, 1995 Navumchyk, along with other members of the parliamentary opposition, held a hunger strike and sitting protest against the controversial referendum initiated by president Alexander Lukashenka.

On March 26, 1996 Navumchyk fled from Belarus together with BPF party leader Zianon Pazniak. According to unverified information, the government of Alexander Lukashenka has ordered an arrest of Pazniak and Navumchyk, who both were prominent opposition figures. Siarhei Navumchyk subsequently got political asylum in the United States and currently works for the Belarusian edition of Radio Liberty.

Since 1997, Siarhei Navumchyk is vice president of the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in exile.