watching the news from berlin reporter on location meets a man who says he saw how death squads abducted and murdered 3 belorussian politicians 20 years ago for now on behalf of the whole team here thanks for watching we'll have more news is always at the top of the hour. the only. kid i am. sick closest place to hail just gives him standing kiran. entrance does a camp for all trains came in more. than you. nice shoes and few 100 more unfortunate.

mom. balancing all story. because a. must. start january 27th on d w. a few brave souls gather to commemorate 3 politicians who vanished without a trace over 20 years ago there holding their vigil in minsk capital of delarue now a key witness has broken his silence as a member of a special unit he himself took part in the abduction and murder of the opposition politicians. would we were acting on orders.

i received a spoken order just to move anyone had refused to go another would have taken his place and done just the same thing goes for the social disease. 41 year old eureka out ski has requested asylum in another european country he says the secret service in his home country by the rules is after him. yes and you put it on i left my family behind in 2008 after i was attacked the bird that i realised that my wife and daughter were sacred to me and i my of those living there so i got divorced and now i'm living alone you. also had so the. yuri no longer felt safe in his own country because he decided to speak out and

unburden his soul as he puts it now he's afraid his former comrades at the security agency are coming for him. to pull in 4 months and i got information that they wanted to arrest me and put me in prison on. the labor. i don't want to do time or make any statements or be accused of something i hadn't done and neither was a kid the book was long and woods and your story of being on them. yuri was involved in a crime that still haunts many people in eastern europe. on may 7th 1999 near the old fire lookout tower in downtown minsk former interior minister yuri's that got out of his car. was a leading figure in the opposition as usual he walks the few meters to his apartment building this reenactment is based on the statements of key witness yuriko. 2 men followed so he wouldn't be able to run 2 more men block his

path in front they were officers in plain clothes. one said come along police. at the time tensions were running high in minutes the former interior minister your reason turned against lucas schenkel people were taking to the streets in thousands hoping to stop the country's descent into dictatorship although my dear friends black ravens are circling over our country. and so yesterday. the national congress met to protect the constitution and oppose dictatorship. alexander lukashenko grew spello rios with an iron fist and the support of several elite units including the sober allegedly for him to combat organized crime but

says he witnessed eureka it has violently quassia the political opposition. of the russkie came to the unit at age 18 through his military service now he's making scathing accusations this is here in the summary of noted who was involved in liquidation on may 7th and who took part in gone charles the good asian on september 16th the grinch who all the people who knew about it and were involved with that are listed here. all the orders were given orally. there's no written evidence no video footage that you know protocols. but there's nothing like that in. all of.

your research was only the 1st victim in september in 1909 victor griffin char in businessmen and i told the were abducted near santa number 3 in minsk they were also members of the opposition and planning to remove the president from office the witness confirms both were liquidated. as a picture shows the military base and. this is where we killed them this would be. the middle of the middle distance there's the road. it's about 200 meters long and leads about 20 meters into the forest this is that the meat there pretty just. here we killed gun charge and her soft. wood and you're about 50 meters away the grave was dug but in the. off their clothing a burned out here. only their shoes were thrown into the graves and buried with

them. he was a. president look a shingle consolidated his power through 2 controversial referenda in the midnight 190 s. . in 1996 victor good in charge chaired the central election commission but he turned against the president hoping to prevent look ashamed goes grab for more and more power $1000.00 bounty was paid for his murder as the key witness from the death squad tells that they were even given a reason why i had to disappear from north america running. about and char when they later told us he had evidence that had come to power illegitimately. at the vote in 1906 or $97.00 had been rigged and couldn't charge had the proof. of justice. later they told us we had to eliminate him.

because of this compromising material. and present are the most prominent victims of goes regime so far but they're certainly not the only ones every year at a vigil is held in minsk for the victims many prospects for a democratic future disappeared along with the opposition's really leading lights. there's regret and a feeling of guilt if these people were stored live better rooms would be a different place today. western germany yuri's a cairo family lives in exile here his wife 2 daughters and grandchildren he's never seen. yelena is that cairo is the eldest daughter she works as

a sales clerk she's the only one of the family to speak openly about their fate she came to germany a year after her father's disappearance this is the 1st is that her uncle has heard about the key witness his statement and the details of her father's death. of course it's hard to hear all this and see the gravesites not to mention to hear all about how it happened you'd have to have nerves of steel for that. but do the statements check out the council of europe in strasburg could pass the 1st judgement on that. christos readers and andre got to learn here the key witnesses statement polgar readers is a criminal defense lawyer from cyprus he investigated the politicians disappearances for the council 15 years ago that alone is working on the cases today the council of europe tracks human rights abuses and keeps an especially close eye on bello reduce. the ability we have today to run and even see good

investigation that iris seems very small that's a problem it's impossible for these abductions. to have taken place without the concept to put it mildly of. your fish. and when i say very high your fishes. my mind goes to the president. maybe he knew maybe he didn't i can't say for sure either way but i think you know. as serious as the allegation is it can hardly touch alexander lukashenko this president was not welcome in the west for years that changed in november 2019 when

austrian president alexander found a bell and received the dictator in vienna but the recent occupations that look ordered the liquidation of his adversaries may well strain any reproach me with the west. a great deal about the death squads activities remains unknown even after. statements he claims to have simply passed on the. the commander colonel from the interior ministry did the shooting. has something to say to the victim's family. to express my sincere regret that i participated in their murder. i apologize to you. i can point out the grave sites on the mound. everything else depends on you and our battle russi and justice system. and.

these words of remorse may come as a shock to some family members. on the hook to kill can i accept. their lives. he wasn't what i thought they'd chosen people for the liquidation who didn't have any families in bell or reuss. so they could eliminate them afterwards as well. just being daughter to the gloomy out i'm surprised that a witness has turned up who speaks openly about it. up close. it took. some time to find words for the man who had abetted the murder of her father. at the new one. he would get so upset it's not about him. but it's about the whole system behind him and. he can't be

blamed for anything i'm not but you knew people like him are dependent on the system because they're forced to carry out his bloody crime says. even if i were to say something to him i couldn't say it to the thousands of others who acted together with him recently mr borden to. be abducted men haven't been forgotten elsewhere in europe. in. the netherlands human rights activists from amnesty international have planted trees to commemorate them and an hour long vigil is held every year in the memorial grove in la the witnesses' statements are producing results the state prosecutor and many reopened the 20 year old case an investigation is underway.

here. listen carefully. don't know who these soon. to be again.

discover the. substantial documentary. losing. a. no mother piano sounds like that one it is a one off and not just piano in the woods. and with a well welcome to your own let's see what else we have for you today.