The Minsk Office of the Investigative Committee of Belarus refused to initiate a criminal case into the death of Alexander Taraikovsky, the first protester to die after the start of the mass actions. This was announced by the chairman of the Investigative Committee Ivan Noskevich, BelTA informs.
According to the investigation, in the evening of August 10, Taraikovsky, being very drunk, separated from the crowd of protesters and, despite numerous warnings from law enforcement officers, headed towards them.
By his actions, he provoked security officials who did not know his intentions, Noskevich claims. They had operational information about possible terrorist attacks and the presence of weapons or explosives in the protesters, therefore they perceived Taraikovsky “as a real threat to the life and health” of those around them.
“Law enforcement officers acted exclusively within the framework of their instructions and used non-lethal weapons against Taraikovsky, the action of which is not aimed at defeat, but at his physical stop, from a safe distance, excluding death,” Noskevich said. / p>
According to him, the protester died, because “due to the combination of a number of tragic circumstances, one of the injuries turned out to be penetrating”.
Investigators concluded that the security forces had the right to use non-lethal weapons to prevent more serious consequences.
34-year-old Taraikovsky was an individual entrepreneur and sold car curtains. He served seven years for causing grievous bodily harm, resulting in death. The widow claims that he stood up for his mother, who was beaten by a neighbor.
After the death of Taraikovsky, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that a homemade device that he wanted to throw at the security forces exploded in his hands. However, the Conflict Intelligence Team reported that he could have been shot by special forces.