BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/08/2006

'Worrying' Information Over Lithuanian Diplomat's Death In Belarus

"Worrying" information has been brought to light concerning the mysterious death of a Lithuanian consular worker in Belarus, the Lithuanian prime minister said on Thursday.

"There is worrying information, but I believe that if Belarus' law-enforcement agencies, our experts and diplomats work together we will find the truth and give all the answers," Gediminas Kirkilas told the Ziniu Radijas news radio programme.

Belarusian officials were cooperating with Lithuanian investigators and "concealing nothing," he added. Kirkilas' office would not comment on the nature of the "worrying" information.

The comments came a day after the body of Lithuanian diplomat Vytautas Pociunas was found lying beside a hotel in the Belarusian city of Brest. Pociunas, 48, was a security advisor at the Lithuanian consulate in the city of Grodno.

Initial comments from the Belarusian authorities suggested that Pociunas, who was staying in a room on the ninth floor of the Brest Intourist hotel during a working visit, had fallen from his window.

"The preliminary results of an investigation carried out by the Brest regional prosecutor showed that there were no grounds for suspecting that the death was caused by violence," the Belarusian prosecutor's office said on Wednesday, according to Interfax.

However, speculation had already begun in Lithuania that veteran security officer Pociunas, whose job included data protection at the Grodno consulate, could have been the victim of a political murder, Baltic News Service BNS reported.

Lithuanian officials would not comment on the allegations.

"The announcement of any preconceptions or assessments at this stage would harm Lithuania's interests. I cannot comment on either facts or opinions," Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas said.

Source:

http://www.playfuls.com/news_00000002512_Worrying_Information_Over_Lithuanian_Diplomats_Death_In_Belarus_.html