MINSK, 10 January (BelTA) – The Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus has sent requests for legal assistance in the case of genocide of the Belarusian people to 17 countries, head of the General Prosecutor's Office investigation team in a criminal case Valery Tolkachev said in an interview with STV, BelTA has learned.
“The relevant international assignments have been prepared and sent to 17 states with request for legal assistance. We understand that some will give answers and help in the investigation of the criminal case, while others will not. As an example I will cite Lithuania and Latvia that refused us legal assistance in the criminal case of genocide on the grounds that it could affect their national security issues. In fact, we see that they do not want to assist us in the investigation of the criminal case against humanity, the mass murder of civilians and help restore historical justice and show the scale of the tragedy of the Belarusian people,” said Valery Tolkachev.
According to him, Russia has been providing active assistance in the study of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War. “The work with the archives are underway on a daily basis. The work with archives is important. They are one of the sources of evidence. I would like to note that at the request of the head of state a team from the Prosecutor General's Office has paid a visit to Moscow. We have worked with the state archives of the Russian Federation. Russia shows interest in providing necessary documents,” the head of the group said.
The investigation has established that the scale of the tragedy is much greater than was previously known, said Valery Tolkachev.
