Twenty-seven years after a Belarusian businessman disappeared, a Swiss court has convicted a former security officer for his role in the case.
On October 26, the Cantonal Court of St. Gallen found Yuri Harauski guilty of the enforced disappearance of Anatoly Krasovsky in 1999. The court imposed a two-year suspended prison sentence and upheld Harauski’s acquittal concerning the disappearances of two other men.
The verdict partly reverses a 2023 acquittal. A further appeal remains possible. First such conviction worldwide
Why the court convicted on one disappearance
Krasovsky disappeared during a period in which opponents of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko were targeted. The two other men whose disappearances were considered in the case were former interior minister Yury Zakharenka and opposition figure Viktar Hanchar.
The different outcomes matter. A conviction concerning one victim does not establish criminal liability for every event examined in the same proceeding.
Reuters reports that the court found Harauski’s account credible and concluded that his knowledge and intent were clear in Krasovsky’s case. It did not reach the same conclusion on the other charges. reuters.com
What universal jurisdiction made possible
The proceedings illustrate how a national court can, in certain circumstances, consider serious crimes committed abroad even when the events have no ordinary territorial connection to the prosecuting state.
Rights organizations involved in the proceedings describe the case as the first in which a Swiss court examined the crime of enforced disappearance. They also identify the verdict as the first conviction abroad of a member of the Belarusian security apparatus for crimes connected to repression under Lukashenko. Those historical descriptions are the organizations’ assessment. First such conviction worldwide
For Canadian lawyers following international criminal law, the case shows both the reach and the limits of such proceedings. Jurisdiction can open the courtroom door decades after an alleged crime. The prosecution must still establish the required elements for each charge.
Sources: TRIAL International’s verdict announcement · Reuters report · Joint human-rights organizations’ announcement