Dzmitry Zavadski

Who was Dzmitry Zavadski?

Dzmitry Zavadski was a Belarusian cameraman of Russian Public Television ORT.

On July 7, 2000 Dzmitry Zavadski drove to the Minsk airport to meet colleague Pavel Sharamyet. His car was later found at the airport, but Zavadski has not been seen since. The Belarusian authorities failed to determine the fates of Dzmitry Zavadski or those of leading opposition figures Jury Zacharanka and Viktar Hanchar, as well as that of businessman Anatol Krasouski who also disappeared in 1999 and 2000.

Belarus came under international criticism, despite the conviction by Minsk Regional Court on March 14, 2002 of four men of crimes including the kidnapping of Dzmitry Zavadski. His body was never recovered and the circumstances of his presumed death were not explained.

Human rights monitors regarded the behind-closed-doors trial and convictions as flawed. In September 2002 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that it was “seriously concerned about the lack of progress” and established an investigative sub-committee to probe into the “disappearances.”