Dzianis Uladzimiravich Sidarenka (Belarusian: Дзяніс Уладзіміравіч Сідарэнка; 10 March 1976 – 24 June 2024) was a Belarusian diplomat.
Dzianis Sidarenka | |
|---|---|
Дзяніс Сідарэнка | |
 Sidarenka in 2018 | |
| Born | 10 March 1976 |
| Died | 24 June 2024 (aged 48) Minsk, Belarus |
| Title | Ambassador |
| Children | Two daughters |
Life
editFrom 1996 to 1997, Sidarenka took part in an international programme in political and social sciences at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and left with a diploma. He finished his studies in international relations at the Belarusian State University in Minsk with distinction in 1997.[1]
The next year, Sidarenka joined the Belarusian Foreign Ministry's service and worked for the Pan-European Cooperation section in the Department for Europe. In 2002, he was acting leader of the Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Belarus at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. He came back to Belarus in 2005 and took over the leadership of the section for the OSCE and the Council of Europe at the Foreign Ministry.[1]
In 2009, Sidarenka went as a minister-counsellor to the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Austria. At the same time, he became acting Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus at international organizations in Vienna.[1]
In 2013, Sidarenka became the leader at the Foreign Ministry's Department for Pan-European Cooperation. On 13 December 2016, he took over the office of Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to Germany. According to Pavel Latushko, Sidarenka advocated pro-European viewpoints.[2][1]
Sidarenka was, by decree from President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, stripped of his post as ambassador on 11 March 2024.[3]
Personal life
editSidarenka was married and father to two daughters. Besides Russian and Belarusian, he spoke English, French and German.[1]
Death
editSidarenka died on 24 June 2024 and was buried two days later. He was 48. According to reports, he had committed suicide after he was interrogated by the State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus (KGB) upon his return to Belarus. According to information from the Belarusian opposition Internet portal Zerkalo, though, Sidarenka had experienced heavy physical stress in the KGB's lie detector tests. Belarusian exile media have reported that he killed himself by jumping from a highrise in Minsk.[4]
The Belarusian news outlet Nasha Niva quoted unnamed sources who said that "[Sidarenka] did not get out of polygraphs and interrogations," further adding that "It is said in Minsk that all career diplomats returning from the EU are now subject to close operational scrutiny by special services" — that is to say, the KGB.[5]
For her part, Katherine Brucker, the Chargée d’Affaires of the United States Mission, speaking to the OSCE's Permanent Council, said that Sidarenka had died "under circumstances that are unclear and very troubling," and she asserted that there had been "reports" that "his body showed signs of torture."[6] However, no evidence was presented to corroborate these assertions.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry made an announcement about the diplomat's death only after he had been buried, without naming the cause of death.[7] Western media likened the circumstances of Sidarenka's death by falling out a window to the way in which some earlier critics of Russia and Belarus had died, as well as to Vladimir Makei's likewise surprising death in 2022.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Außerordentlicher und Bevollmächtigter Botschafter der Republik Belarus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland". mfa.gov.by (in German). Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ ""Fenstersturz"?: Früherer Botschafter von Belarus in Deutschland tot". n-tv (in German). 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ Alexander Lukashenko (11 March 2024). "Указ Президента Республики Беларусь, 11 марта 2024 г. № 88". pravo.by (in Russian). Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ Anna-Sophie Schneider (28 June 2024). "Nach Abberufung aus Deutschland: Früherer Botschafter stirbt in Belarus". Spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Пасол Сідарэнка пакончыў з сабой, не вытрымаў допытаў КДБ" (in Belarusian). Nasha Niva. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ Brucker, Katherine (5 July 2024). "On the Death of a Former OSCE Colleague". osce.usmission.gov. U.S. Mission to the OSCE. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
I would like to take a moment to remember a former OSCE colleague, Dzianis Sidarenka, who died June 23 under circumstances that are unclear and very troubling.
- ^ "Памёр 48-гадовы былы пасол у Германіі Дзяніс Сідарэнка" (in Belarusian). Nasha Niva. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Ex-Botschafter von Belarus überraschend verstorben". tagesschau.de (in German). 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
External links
edit
- Page about Sidarenka as Ambassador to Germany (in German)
- Page about Sidarenka (in German)