Belarus police deny involvement in abduction of journalist

Belarussian Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov flatly denied the allegations of police involvement in the kidnapping of journalist Dmitry Zavadsky. "It's pure speculation," he told Russian reporters on Tuesday.

The problem of abductions in Belarus is no more acute than elsewhere. As for the notorious Dmitry Zavadsky case, the group behind this crime, has been exposed and they are serving their sentences; two abductors have been sentenced to life," Naumov underlined.

Other kidnapping cases are investigated under standard procedures. "I don't think law-enforcement bodies should pay all their attention to criminal cases with political implications, as it will limit their work in other fields," the interior minister said.

Dmitry Zavadsky, 27, a Russian Public Television cameraman, disappeared without a trace on his way to the Minsk airport to meet a colleague of his on July 7, 2000.

Several months later, police ascertained that the Russian journalist had been kidnapped by a gang which included several former employees of the Belarussian Interior Ministry and its Almaz special task force unit.