The Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus opened a criminal case against the former ambassador to Argentina Vladimir Astapenko, who went over to the side of the opposition. BelTA informs about it.
The ex-diplomat was charged with embezzlement by abuse of power.
“The suspect, through abuse of office, took possession of 2393 dollars, which at the rate of the National Bank of Belarus amounted to 6077 rubles, which he used for personal purposes,” said the information department Prosecutor General’s Office .
Astapenko served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Chile concurrently. He resigned on 23 September. It happened on the day ” secret the inauguration” of the president Alexander Lukashenko against the background of mass protests. “I believe in a better future for the Belarusian people!” – Astapenko said then.
On November 3, Lukashenka signed a decree dismissing the ambassador and depriving him of his diplomatic rank “in connection with the commission of an offense incompatible with being in the diplomatic service.” Astapenko did not agree with this wording and filed a lawsuit against Foreign Ministry of Belarus, Tut.by reported.
Former Ambassador joined to the People’s Anti-Crisis Administration, created by the opposition to “prepare for Lukashenka’s resignation.”
Mass protests in Belarus began after the presidential elections on August 9, in which, according to official data, Lukashenko, who ran for a sixth term, won 80 percent of the vote. The first shares were violently accelerated. The protesters demand the resignation of the country’s leadership, the holding of new and fair elections and the prosecution of those responsible for the violence against the demonstrators.