Belarus opposition members: We have never worked with Lebedev

“I know Konstantin Lebedev only in connection with the “Bolotnaya square case”. I was in Moscow when this video was published, so I asked the people there who this person was,” says one of the “Tell the Truth” leaders Mikhail Pashkevich.

The famous video film Protest Anatomy, screened on the Russian TV last year, made a connection between the Russian politician and Belarus. The film contains footage showing Konstantin Lebedev in a meeting with other Russian opposition activists and Georgians in Minsk discussing preparation of protests in Moscow. The video became one of the key elements of the criminal case in the end, the opposition activists were arrested. Lebedev was arrested, too. After the arrest, he told Commersant journalists about his work at the Belarusian election, also that the Belarusian special services knew about all the plans of the presidential candidates’ headquarters through the Belarusian opposition’s Georgian. Lebedev’s obligations included recording his conversations with the opposition activists in Minsk and passing the records to Georgians.

Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, who worked for Andrei Sannikau’s campaign headquarters during the 2010 presidential election, has also heard nothing about Konstantin Lebedev’s activities in Belarus. He reckons this man has confused his own testimony.

“I know nothing about the facts that Lebedev refers to. I know nothing about the events he describes. On the whole, it is clearly seen even in the interview that the person got confused in what is true and what is false.”

Lebedev’s Russian allies are much more radical in this regard. They call his nothing but a traitor in the Russian opposition circles. Like, he decided to cooperate with the investigation in order to get a shorter term in jail. Lebedev does not deny this. He says that everyone knew what they went for.

The UCP leader Anatol Lyabedzka knows about Lebedev’s confessions – he read the interview. However, he also denies any cooperation with him during the election campaign.

“I don’t know him personally. I don’t know for sure whether Lebedev was in Belarus or not. He says he performed certain functions… Still, I have no idea whom he worked with here and who can give any information about him.”

In Lyabedzka’s opinion, Konstantin Lebedev has been involved into the Russian special services’ games. Thus, the attitude to his “Belarusian confessions” should be appropriate.

As for Lebedev, we will have to wait for long in order to get a comment from him. Last week, the court considered him guilty of organization of mass riots in the Bolotnaya Square and sent him to prison for 2,5 years.

Photo: rbc.ru