By_Pol said he was addressing a meeting of department ministers.
Lukashenka promoted Karpyankou to the post of deputy interior minister in November in what analysts said was part of a series of moves to bolster the ranks of the so-called "siloviki," the country's security apparatus, now more than ever a key pillar of his government's support.Īccording to By_Pol, the recording is from an unspecified date in late October, when Karpyankou was head of the Interior Ministry department for combating corruption and organized crime.
He is no stranger to calling for the use of force or employing it himself, being caught on camera using a truncheon to smash his way into a Minsk café where protesters were hiding. In the latest recording, the voice heard is alleged by By_Pol and confirmed by sources it cites to be that of Mikalay Karpyankou, a deputy interior minister in charge of the ministry's troops. Recently, the news outlet EU Observer published details of another leaked recording, this one of KGB officials talking in 2012 of plans to kill foes of Lukashenka in Germany. Lukashenka, 66, finds himself facing growing international isolation, as Western governments, including the United States, Canada, and the European Union, refuse to acknowledge him as the legitimate leader of Belarus, slapping him and senior officials with sanctions for their perceived roles in rigging the election and in the continuing crackdown. The recording was downloaded to social-media sites including YouTube on January 15 by the By_Pol Initiative, a grouping of former Belarusian security and justice officials and officers who have abandoned Lukashenka and switched over to the opposition.īelarus has witnessed unprecedented and unflagging protests since the disputed August 9 election, which have been met by brutal government repression.
That's not all: The person speaking also urges officers to use a more lethal weapon against protesters, assuring them they will face no repercussions if they do, and apparently admitting that a unarmed civilian killed at a demonstration in Minsk in August was in fact shot at close range with a rubber bullet by riot police. Belarusians have paid a high price for raising their voices in opposition since authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka claimed a landslide victory and a sixth presidential term in an August 2020 election that hundreds of thousands of citizens contend was stolen.Īnd now a leaked audio recording has emerged of what is said to be a senior Belarusian Interior Ministry official discussing plans to build an internment camp - complete with barbed wire - for political prisoners. Arrests, beatings, forced exile, and even death.