MINSK, 19 November (BelTA) – As many as 65 people have been recognized as victims of a crime against security of humankind, Chairman of the Investigative Committee Dmitry Gora told reporters on 19 November, BelTA has learned.
After an incident occurred on the Belarus-Poland border on 16 November, investigators promptly arrived at the scene to conduct an examination and undertake investigative actions. “The work is ongoing. First of all, our task was to record illegal actions of Polish officials and collect evidence of the committed crime. A thorough examination of the scene was carried out together with the State Forensic Examination Committee, various items were picked up, including projectiles, samples of soil and plans, everything was sent for examination. The preliminary results of the examination were announced yesterday by representatives of expert institutions,” Dmitry Gora said.
The investigators continue working. “The results of the initial investigative actions, as well as the analysis carried out, suggest that it was not an isolated fact. The illegal actions continued for a long time. The Investigative Committee is working on criminal cases and is processing evidence of unlawful actions of Polish officials that led to dire consequences, including death. This includes failure to provide medical assistance, forcible expulsion to the territory of the Republic of Belarus. The analysis of the situation suggests that this is a crime against security of humankind,” Dmitry Gora said.
Therefore, the Grodno Oblast branch of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case to investigate this crime on 16 November. “This criminal case was later forwarded to the Central Office of the Investigative Committee. As I was told, by this morning alone 65 persons were interviewed and recognized as victims of illegal actions. These are two citizens of the Republic of Belarus, one citizen of the Russian Federation – these are journalists, the rest are Iraqi citizens, including 14 minors (six of them are under 14), women. We are conducting interrogations, ordering expert examinations to determine the severity of the injuries inflicted. We are cooperating with healthcare institutions to identify all those who applied for medical help, all persons who suffered from illegal actions,” Dmitry Gora said.
