Aliaksandr Kornyshau’s parents’ house searched over his appearance in Belsat TV show
Aliaksandr Kornyshau is the editor of the Vitebskiy Kurier News online publication who left Belarus in 2020. In an interview with the Belsat TV channel in early February of this year, he revealed that he had experienced health issues during his forced emigration. He was diagnosed with necrosis of hip joints, which required two joint replacement surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation process. Following the broadcast, police officers and investigators began to visit the residence of Kornyshau’s parents regularly.
In mid-April, the house where his parents live was searched, Aliaksandr said:
«Although I have not lived with my parents for about 25 years, I am still registered in this house. The building is divided into two apartments, my brother lives in one and my parents live in the other, they are in their 80s and my father is very sick, he had two strokes. The search was conducted as part of a criminal case in which my family understands I have witness status. Since none of my belongings were there at all, the police didn’t seize anything, just peeped into my brother’s computer and tablet, and checked my father’s cell phone. They took pictures of our Telegram conversations. We don’t text that much or talk about politics, we mostly discuss health issues. My family was told that the criminal case concerns my interview with Belsat TV: they say that this is an extremist formation and that I therefore allegedly promote extremist activities.»
Since Aliaksandr’s parents are elderly, he would like the visits of law enforcement officials to stop. All the more, since the relatives have nothing to do neither with the interview with the media, recognized in Belarus as an extremist formation, nor with what he does in general.
Aliaksandr Kornyshau also said that his brother had received phone calls from the Investigative Committee and that investigators had visited him at home. They were interested in the whereabouts and activities of Kornyshau.
The last time there was a police visit was a week ago. They asked neighbors if they knew Kornyshau, showed his photos, and asked if and when they had seen him. Police started visiting Aliaksandr’s relatives at the end of 2022. They asked about his work as editor of the Vitebsk Kurier News. They also inquired about his views on the current Belarusian government and how to contact him.
The last time Aliaksandr Kornyshau spoke to the investigators was in November 2020. Three days after he left his country, an investigator from Minsk texted him on Telegram. He wanted to interview Aliaksandr about Aleh Korban, the head of the public initiative Alternative, who was arrested several days before. Kornyshau was his deputy and left Belarus to escape arrest. He first went to Kyiv, then Germany, and now is based in Poland.