Aleh Byabenin
| Aleh Byabenin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | c. 1974 Kostroma, Russia |
| Died | September 3, 2010 (aged 36) Minsk, Belarus |
| Nationality | Belarusian |
| Other names | Oleg Bebenin |
| Education | Balrusian State University, Journalism Department |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Employer | Charter 97 |
| Known for | Dissident journalism |
| Political party | Charter 97 |
| Movement | Belarusian democracy movement |
Aleh Byabenin (Belarusian: Алег Бябенін; Russian: Олег Бебенин Oleg Bebenin) (c. 1974 – September 3, 2010), a Belarusian journalist, was known for his involvement in Charter 97 in Minsk, Belarus. He was the co-founder, director, and journalist for the political opposition news website Charter 97. He was also the campaign press secretary and friend of Andrei Sannikov, who was the former deputy foreign minister and also one of the opposition candidates in the presidential election that took place in 2010.
Aleh Byabenin was born in Kostroma, Soviet Union. Byabenin graduated from the Belarusian State University, department of journalism. He had a wife and two young sons. Byabenin resided in the village of Pyarhurava near Minsk, Belarus with his family. He is buried in the Eastern Cemetery in Minsk.
In the 1990s, Aleh Byabenin works as the deputy chief editor of Imya, an independent newspaper. In 1998, he founded the Charter 97 (Belarusian: Хартыя'97; Russian: Хартия'97) website, which was a pro-opposition news website. He as also a member of Andrei Sannikov's campaign team during the 2010 elections.
Before his death, Aleh Byabenin's strong reporting towards the government had made him into a target, such as being abducted in 1997 and subjected to a mock execution and he was attacked in 1999 by right-wing activists. He had also received many anonymous death threats on his Charter 97 website in the months prior to his death.
On September 3, 2010, Aleh Byabenin was found hanged in the stairwell of his summer home in Minsk, Belarus. His brother discovered his body after he stopped returning phone calls.
Authorities immediately ruled his death as a probable suicide. Byabenin's friends and family strongly reject this, saying there was not suicide note and he had no reason to commit suicide. A friend who saw Byabenin's body, Dmitry Bondarenko, said the journalist had bad bruises on his body and that his ankle was badly twisted, signaling that he went through a struggle. The official autopsy does not include these findings.
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