Jury Zacharanka

Colonel Yury Zakharanka (Belarusian: Юры Захаранка, Russian: Юрий Захаренко, Yuri Zakharenko; January 1, 1952 - 1999(?) ) was the Belarusian minister of internal affairs and oppositional politician abducted and probably killed in 1999.

Jury Zakharanka was born in a small city of Vasilyevichy, Rechytsa Raion.

At the moment when Belarus gained independence Zakharanka was deputy chief of Interregional Organised criminality fighting department of the Soviet MVD.

In 1994 he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus. On October 16, 1995 he was dismissed from this position by president Alexander Lukashenko. Zakharanka joined the opposition to the president and was elected member of the governing board of the United Civil Party of Belarus. Having strong support among top officers in the army and the State Security Agency ("KGB") Zakharanka was a dangerous enemy for Lukashenko.

The ex-minister was abducted in the evening of May 7, 1999. The state did not make serious attempts to search for the politician. Several years later the former MVD official Aleh Ałkajeǔ fled to Germany and stated that he was witness of that Zakharanka and several other abducted opposition leaders have been murdered on the orders of top Lukashenko's helpers.

In commemorance with the abducted politicians and political prisoners of Belarus, the Belarusian opposition and its supporters have on the 16th of every month The Day of Solidarity with Belarus.