MINSK: A Belarussian writer and journalist with links to the country’s opposition has been found dead after apparently falling from the ninth floor of a building, the Belarussian Association of Journalists said yesterday.
Yuri Goumeniouk’s body was found in Grodno, in the western part of the former Soviet state.
The building where Goumeniouk fell to his death is located next to his home, where the 43-year-old writer lived with his mother, the association said, without specifying why he had entered the structure.
People close to Goumeniouk said police were investigating the case as a possible suicide or homicide.
Goumeniouk had worked for several independent publications as well as for a Polish radio station and a Belarussian broadcaster transmitting from Poland.
He was also known for his satirical verses about President Alexander Lukashenko.
In 2011, he was sentenced to 12 days in prison for taking part in a Grodno-staged protest.
Wedged between Russia and the European Union, Belarus has become increasingly isolated since Lukashenko won reelection in disputed presidential polls in December 2010, which were followed by a massive protest and an opposition crackdown.
Since then, many western countries have imposed sanctions on the country.
Lukashenko has been in power in Belarus for the past 18 years.
Belarussian writer dies in fall from building
