KGB Reveals Names Of Nine Individuals Involved In “Coup Case”
BelTA, TUT.BY / BelarusFeed
4 May 2021, 13:00
The KGB revealed the identities of 9 people accused in the case initiated under Part 1 of Art. 357 [Conspiracy or other actions committed with the aim of seizing state power] of the Criminal Code of Belarus, BelTA reports with reference to the KGB official representative Andrei Yarosh.
Yarosh said that it was Alexander Feduta, Yuri Zenkovich, Grigory Kostusev, Olga Golubovich, Dmitry Shchigelsky, Alexander Perepechko, Pavel Kulazhenko, Vitaly Makarenko and Igor Makar. The first four are being held in the KGB pre-trial detention centre. The KGB initiates the extradition of those accused in the case from Lithuania, the U.S and Ukraine. There are five of them: Shchigelsky, Perepechko, Kulazhenko, Makarenko and Makar.
The agency contacted the justice institutions of the United States with a request for legal assistance: to establish the whereabouts of the defendants, to question them, to carry out investigative and procedural actions aimed at investigating the circumstances of the case. “The State Security Committee expects from American and other foreign partners to promptly and comprehensively study requests, as well as a positive response to the request of extradition of the listed citizens to Belarus in order to bring them to responsibility established by law.”
On Saturday, 17 April, Alexander Lukashenko said that political analyst Alexander Feduta and lawyer Yury Zenkovich were involved in plotting the assassination attempt on him and his sons. “Then we found out about the involvement of foreign intelligence services. Most likely, the CIA, the FBI, I do not know which of the Americans exactly. We learned about their plans to come to Minsk and to organize an assassination against the president and his children,” said Lukashenko.
Later that day, the state-run ONT TV channel aired a report with a commentary by the KGB Chairperson Ivan Tertel that the special services “managed to prevent attempts of an armed coup in Belarus and elimination of government officials”. The official said that Alexander Feduta, Yuri Zenkovich and Grigory Kostusev were members of the criminal group. The ONT reported that “the conspirators plotted the coup for the summer of this year, June or July”.
The Federal Security Service (FSS) of Russia confirmed the information of the KGB of Belarus and stated that it had participated in the operation to detain Feduta and Zenkovich in Moscow. According to the agency, they arrived in the city after consultations in the U.S. and Poland to meet with “opposition-minded generals of the Belarusian Armed Forces.” At the same time, according to the FSS, seizing power by force in Belarus was planned for 9 May.
“Any suggestion that the U.S. government was behind this or was involved in the attempted assassination of Lukashenko is completely false,” said the U.S. State Department representative.
A criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 357 [Conspiracy or other actions committed with the aim of seizing or retaining state power by unconstitutional means] of the Criminal Code of Belarus. They face punishment from 8 to 12 years in prison. On April 21, the KGB of Belarus reported that four persons [Zenkovich, Feduta, Kostusev, the fourth was not named] were detained in the “coup d’etat case”.
On 24 April, Alexander Lukashenko spoke about three scenarios for his elimination, and also said that in the coming days he would sign a decree that would answer the question: “What will happen if they succeed in assassinating the president?” Lukashenko explained that if such a situation happens, the country will have a “collective president in the form of a Security Council”.
On 28 April, the ONT TV channel broadcast a two-part film about the details of this case.
4 May 2021, 13:00
Photo: TUT.BY
Yarosh said that it was Alexander Feduta, Yuri Zenkovich, Grigory Kostusev, Olga Golubovich, Dmitry Shchigelsky, Alexander Perepechko, Pavel Kulazhenko, Vitaly Makarenko and Igor Makar. The first four are being held in the KGB pre-trial detention centre. The KGB initiates the extradition of those accused in the case from Lithuania, the U.S and Ukraine. There are five of them: Shchigelsky, Perepechko, Kulazhenko, Makarenko and Makar.
The agency contacted the justice institutions of the United States with a request for legal assistance: to establish the whereabouts of the defendants, to question them, to carry out investigative and procedural actions aimed at investigating the circumstances of the case. “The State Security Committee expects from American and other foreign partners to promptly and comprehensively study requests, as well as a positive response to the request of extradition of the listed citizens to Belarus in order to bring them to responsibility established by law.”
Coup plot
On Saturday, 17 April, Alexander Lukashenko said that political analyst Alexander Feduta and lawyer Yury Zenkovich were involved in plotting the assassination attempt on him and his sons. “Then we found out about the involvement of foreign intelligence services. Most likely, the CIA, the FBI, I do not know which of the Americans exactly. We learned about their plans to come to Minsk and to organize an assassination against the president and his children,” said Lukashenko.
Later that day, the state-run ONT TV channel aired a report with a commentary by the KGB Chairperson Ivan Tertel that the special services “managed to prevent attempts of an armed coup in Belarus and elimination of government officials”. The official said that Alexander Feduta, Yuri Zenkovich and Grigory Kostusev were members of the criminal group. The ONT reported that “the conspirators plotted the coup for the summer of this year, June or July”.
The Federal Security Service (FSS) of Russia confirmed the information of the KGB of Belarus and stated that it had participated in the operation to detain Feduta and Zenkovich in Moscow. According to the agency, they arrived in the city after consultations in the U.S. and Poland to meet with “opposition-minded generals of the Belarusian Armed Forces.” At the same time, according to the FSS, seizing power by force in Belarus was planned for 9 May.
“Any suggestion that the U.S. government was behind this or was involved in the attempted assassination of Lukashenko is completely false,” said the U.S. State Department representative.
A criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 357 [Conspiracy or other actions committed with the aim of seizing or retaining state power by unconstitutional means] of the Criminal Code of Belarus. They face punishment from 8 to 12 years in prison. On April 21, the KGB of Belarus reported that four persons [Zenkovich, Feduta, Kostusev, the fourth was not named] were detained in the “coup d’etat case”.
On 24 April, Alexander Lukashenko spoke about three scenarios for his elimination, and also said that in the coming days he would sign a decree that would answer the question: “What will happen if they succeed in assassinating the president?” Lukashenko explained that if such a situation happens, the country will have a “collective president in the form of a Security Council”.
On 28 April, the ONT TV channel broadcast a two-part film about the details of this case.
