{"id":45134,"date":"2019-12-24T14:30:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T13:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/?p=45134"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T09:03:12","slug":"by-2019-12-24-deutsche-welle-journalist-shares-information-about-former-swat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/by-2019-12-24-deutsche-welle-journalist-shares-information-about-former-swat\/","title":{"rendered":"BY 2019.12.24 DW Journalist Shares New Information"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.c97.org\/gi\/54719\/279773-1577182609-big.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>CHRISTIAN TRIPPE. PHOTO BY B. GEILERT, DEUTSCHE WELLE<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New Information About Former SWAT<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SWAT Fighter Garavsky and His Confessions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garavsky claims to have been involved in kidnappings and killings,<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>Deutsche Welle Journalist Shares New Information About Former SWAT Fighter Garavsky and His Confessions. All information has been verified.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cmE0uM3WuQ4?si=xS7qWY4tO9bvxn9-\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Murders of Lukashenko&#8217;s Opponents in Belarus &#8211; Confession of an Accomplice<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dr.\u00a0Christian Trippe, who headed the Deutsche Welle team of journalists working on the film \u201cMinsk Murders\u201d, talked to the portal tut.by.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christian Frederik Trippe is a television journalist. He works for Deutsche Welle, lives in Berlin, and writes about Eastern Europe, in particular about former Soviet Union countries. From 1999 to the 2000s, he worked in Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Together with a team of five people,<em> he worked on the film \u201cMinsk Murders,\u201d which was based on an interview with Belarusian&nbsp;<\/em>Yuri Garavsky<em>. He claims that he participated in the kidnapping and murder of famous opposition politicians&nbsp;<\/em>Viktar Hanchar, Yury Zakharanka, and Anatol Krasouski<em>&nbsp;in the 1990s.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yury Garavsky contacted the Russian service of Deutsche Welle. This was mid-September 2019, says Christian Trippe. According to him in his letter, Garavsky says that he has \u201crelevant insider information about events that took place in Belarus 20 years ago\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 Then, my colleagues from the Russian service contacted him and met with him. The first time, they did not talk for the camera, just to understand what kind of person he was and whether he was trustworthy. After that, we decided that his information was relevant and trustworthy. Then we set up a group to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The initial group included five people: four Russian speakers and Christian. The film production took three months. The journalists met with Garavsky five times and had four multi-hour interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 We also checked facts and made a synopsis. We recorded the core in the form of a dossier, which we checked with many experts in Europe who are familiar with the case. Only then did we decide to make a story about Yuri Garavsky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christian personally met with Garavsky in mid-October. They met only once then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 It was Deutsche Welle\u2019s second joint meeting with him. That time we visited his shelter in a hospital where he is being treated. Yuri lives there now. We were with him in a big city, and we talked to him for the camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What was your impression of Yuri?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 I thought that\u2019s how people who served in special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs look and behave. It doesn\u2019t matter what their name is: the riot police, Alpha, or SWAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the kind of character that is required in such armies: rather unemotional, extremely disciplined. When filming, one can quickly realize whether the person standing in front of the camera is stable or not. After all, many people become irritated a few hours later. They get bored when the cameraman says, \u201cPlease, take this position\u201d, or something like that. I saw nothing of this kind in Yuri. One can easily recognize a former soldier in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite this self-control he used when talking about his life and his involvement in the events of 1999-2000, it was clear that there was some kind of psychological struggle in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.c97.org\/gi\/54719\/279774-1577182609-big.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em><strong>YURI GARAVSKY. PHOTO BY DEUTSCHE WELLE<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yuri controlled himself. He was very reserved. One may think that he doesn\u2019t have any emotions or only a few. I guess this is not quite true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If one looks closer, one can see how his eyes work. We have repeatedly asked him how he lived with it, with this guilt, with the knowledge that he had done such things. But he didn\u2019t want to answer. He only said: \u201cI have psychological problems, but I do not discuss them with anyone\u201d. Then we asked him, \u201cDo you get psychological aid?\u201d \u2013 \u201cNo, I can handle this on my own.\u201d Then he also added that he came to ease his conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first glance, this is not the man who cries, weeps, or shows his emotional stress. But there is an emotion, and I felt it all the time while we were filming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In what conditions does Yuri Garavsky live now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 I can\u2019t say anything but what you can see in this video. He sought asylum in a Western European country. He lives in a place that we haven\u2019t filmed. The authorities didn\u2019t want that. I can say it\u2019s a simple and clean place to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 Yuri claims to have been involved in kidnappings and killings. What consequences may it bear in the country he resides in? Can the police arrest him?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s possible. We have checked what legal consequences his statement of involvement in the killing of people will have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Germany, abetting murder is a criminal offense. That means that if anyone finds it out, one has to call the police immediately. But in the legislative system of the Federal Republic, where he is now, it\u2019s not a criminal offense. It means he can make a statement without being arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don\u2019t know if Yuri knew about this. Or those who helped him escape from Belarus told him about it. I guess it can be true, but I cannot prove it yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We wondered if he felt safe. He said he wasn\u2019t. Now he\u2019s applied for asylum. This procedure may take months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.c97.org\/gi\/54719\/279775-1577182610-big.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em><strong>PHOTO BY DEUTSCHE WELLE<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 Your film says that Yuri is currently under treatment at the clinic. Social networks say that it probably costs much and wonder where he gets the money from for it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 The system of many Western European countries is designed in such a way that those who apply for asylum and are sick get treatment at the expense of the state. It\u2019s the same for Germany. You can find thousands of people from Syria in our hospitals who are treated at the expense of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 After three months of work with the information provided by Garavsky, do you believe in what he told you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 It\u2019s not a matter of faith. We have published the information that we have either directly verified, or it initially was credible. But I stress that we\u2019re the media, not an investigator, a prosecutor, and a judge. Only they can now determine whether this information made public is true. Only a court can determine who\u2019s really to blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 You mentioned ways to check information and data about Garavsky \u2013 databases and specialists. Could you tell us more specifically?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><strong>To be honest, I wouldn\u2019t like to. However, we had much work done. We didn\u2019t say, \u201cWow, this is the key witness to the events of 1999.\u201d We always remained skeptical of what he said. We kept checking all the time. Including in Minsk, which was not as easy as you can imagine.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.c97.org\/gi\/54719\/279776-1577182610-big.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em><strong>PHOTO TAKEN FROM YURI GARAVSKY\u2019S PAGE ON VKONTAKTE<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How exactly did you check it out? That\u2019s a fundamental question.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 Using professional methods, our journalists know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, in his interview, he focused on specific actions: detention, kidnapping, and murder. Therefore, we asked him the same questions during three interviews taken at different times and in different places. Then we made a synopsis, a summary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The contradictions in his statements we tried to resolve through our investigation, questions, and additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We compared all the evidence. Completely new information, we verified as thoroughly as possible. For example, he gave one detail about one of the victims that hadn\u2019t been published anywhere. Later, we interviewed the victim\u2019s friends. Everyone said, \u201cNo, we don\u2019t know that, and we can\u2019t confirm anything.\u201d But then the family said it was true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That detail wasn\u2019t so important to him. He told it incidentally. It turned out to be true. The family said, <strong><em>\u201cHow does he know that\u201d<\/em><\/strong>? It increased his level of credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 Social networks say that Yuri was tested for a truth\/deception device. Is this true?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 No, Deutsche Welle doesn\u2019t do that. They also wonder how much money we paid him. We didn\u2019t do anything like that. That\u2019s what other media can do, but not in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why did you decide not only to do interviews but also to make a film?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because I\u2019m a TV journalist. (Christian laughs.) A film is a medium that can affect more people. A written interview makes it harder to imagine the context. The written interview is never translated into other languages. Our mission as Deutsche Welle is to broadcast in as many languages as possible. That\u2019s why this film is translated into English and Spanish. By the way, South America raises a major topic now because, during the regime of 1960s and the 1970s, many people were kidnapped there and have not been found yet. The topic of the \u201cfiring squad\u201d, the opposition, which was suppressed, is important in South America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.c97.org\/gi\/54719\/279778-1577182611-big.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em><strong>PHOTO BY VADZIM ZAMIRSKI, TUT.BY<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the written interview had simply been translated into Spanish, it would not have been understood. The film presents the full context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Besides, it is not always clear from the text how a person reacts, how he says \u201cI am sorry\u201d, or whether I, as a reader, can believe him. This film allows us to address people who have never heard of Viktar Hanchar, Anatol Krasouski, and Yury Zakharanka, and might not know that Belarus exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 Almost all the information that Garavsky provided was known even before his statement. Except for the detail that Viktar Hanchar missed two toes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 As far as I know, no one has ever stood up as a witness to speak out: \u201cI was there, I was involved in the kidnapping and murder.\u201d Plus, this is the first time that one says how these three politicians passed away. We knew nothing about what happened to their corpses. Rumor has it Zaharenka\u2019s corpse was burned, but that\u2019s just a rumor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2013 Why did you decide to publish the story on December 16, four days before the negotiations between Lukashenka and Putin? The social networks assume that this is not just a coincidence and see a \u201cKremlin trace\u201d in it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2013 There is even a tweet by Mikhail Saakashvili that says the same. This interview has a clear Russian trace, and that we have a negative impact on Belarus\u2019 independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In mid-September, we got Yuri\u2019s contact. The work with his information and personality took much time and effort. It took about three months to produce the film. We decided to release it on December 16. I wanted to do it in 2019 because this is the year of the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of politicians. It\u2019s a completely trivial journalistic reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.c97.org\/gi\/54719\/279779-1577182611-big.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><em><strong>THE PLACE INDICATED BY GARAVSKY ON THE SATELLITE IMAGE PRINTOUTS<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\"><em><strong>ACCORDING TO HIM, HANCHAR AND KRASOUSKI LIE 4-5 METERS UNDER THE GROUND. PHOTO BY VADZIM ZAMIROVSKI, TUT.BY<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It would have been better to work on the film for a few more days, but it is a bad idea to publish such a story at Christmas time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We decided to release the film on the 16th, Monday, before Christmas. That\u2019s the reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is there a Russian trace we are suspected of? No. All the colleagues who worked on the film are Belarusians. The cameraman was Ukrainian. I am German. There\u2019s no Russian trace, as far as you can see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/charter97.org\/en\/news\/2019\/12\/24\/360068\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/charter97.org\/en\/news\/2019\/12\/24\/360068\/<\/a><\/strong><br><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cmE0uM3WuQ4&amp;t=969s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cmE0uM3WuQ4&amp;t=969s<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHRISTIAN TRIPPE. PHOTO BY B. GEILERT, DEUTSCHE WELLE New Information About Former SWAT SWAT Fighter Garavsky and His Confessions Garavsky claims to have been involved in kidnappings and killings, Deutsche Welle Journalist Shares New Information About Former SWAT Fighter Garavsky and His Confessions. All information has been verified. Murders of Lukashenko&#8217;s Opponents in Belarus &#8211; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/actionagainstchildabduction.com\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}