U.S.-based software firm EPAM Systems has confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the man killed by Belarusian security forces in a raid on his apartment in Minsk earlier this week was an employee of the company.
EPAM confirmed to Reuters in a statement on September 30 that the man had worked for the firm, but did not release any further details. It also said it couldn’t confirm media reports that he also held U.S. citizenship.
“While the individual in question has not been named by any official source, we can confirm that the individual reported in the media was an EPAM employee,” the company said in the statement.
“The company has no information that the individual ever held any other citizenship or residential status outside of Belarus.”
The Belarusian Committee of State Security (KGB) said on September 28 that its officers shot dead a 31-year-old man and arrested his wife, but gave no details on the victim, saying only that he was a “terrorist” — a term the KGB often uses to describe protesters and those voicing opposition to the regime of strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
The KGB also said the man had been killed after firing at security forces, leaving one officer dead. There has been no independent confirmation of the KGB statement, including whether the man had fired at security forces.
Franak Viacorka, a senior adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, identified the man on Twitter as being Andrey Zeltsar. Viacorka also said Zeltsar was an EPAM employee and held U.S. citizenship.
Euroradio also identified Zeltsar as the man who was killed during the shoot-out.
Julie Fisher, the U.S. ambassador to Belarus, told Reuters that Washington was seeking additional information on whether a U.S. citizen was involved in the incident.
Belarus was engulfed by protests in 2020 after a presidential election in August — which the opposition and West say was rigged — gave Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our ongoing coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka ramps up pressure on NGOs and independent media as part of a brutal crackdown against protesters and the opposition following an August 2020 election widely considered fraudulent.
In response, the government has cracked down hard on the pro-democracy movement, arresting thousands of people and pushing most of the top opposition figures out of the country.
On September 29, the commander of the internal troops of the Interior Ministry, Mikalay Karpyankou, said the incident involving the KGB officer’s shooting would prompt new, and much harsher, tactics when dealing with situations where police are attempting to gain entry to residences.
“Now, the security forces will act in the following way: if the doors are not opened, they will be blown open and then stun grenades will be used, a dog will be sent in, and if the special forces don’t see someone with raised hands, they will shoot to kill,” he said on state television.
Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, has denied any fraud in the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on a political transition and new elections.
