English

Lawyers ask authorities to allow Baumgertner to take walks outdoors

The legal team of Vladislav Baumgertner has asked Belarus’ authorities to allow the director general of Russian potash producer Uralkali who is under house arrest in Minsk to take walks outdoors, Igor Karyagin, head of the Russian embassy’s consular department, told BelaPAN following his meeting with the executive on Monday, BelaPAN said.

The diplomat said that Belarusian law enforcement agencies were considering the request.

According to Mr. Karyagin, the executive has no complaints or requests. “His mother is living with him, she was not present at the meeting,” he added.

Mr. Karyagin said that he did not know whether Mr. Baumgertner could use a telephone or access the Internet. The matter was not raised at the meeting, he said.

Mr. Baumgertner has been writing to and receiving letters from family members and friends, as well as watching Russian television channels and reading Russian newspaper, said Mr. Karyagin.

The Russian embassy has no information about any plans for Mr. Baumgertner’s return to Russia, Mr. Karyagin noted.

Mr. Baumgertner was arrested on August 26 as he was about to fly out of Minsk after a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich.

A few days later, Belarusian authorities instituted criminal proceedings against Russian billionaire and Uralkali’s top shareholder Suleiman Kerimov.

The case is linked to Uralkali’s July 30 decision to de facto quit BPC, its joint trading arm with Belarusian potash giant Belaruskali. Minsk claims that the collapse of the Belarusian-Russian potash sales cartel has caused severe economic damage to Belarus.

On September 16, Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Aleksandr Zvyagintsev announced that the Investigative Committee of Belarus would hand over the investigation of the criminal case to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.

Mr. Lukashenka said on September 19 that Mr. Baumgertner might be extradited to Russia "for investigation."

Mr. Baumgertner was released from the KGB jail and moved to a rented apartment in Minsk on the night between September 25 and 26, hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Belarus to observe a joint military exercise.