Vitaly Shishov

Vitaly Shishov, 26, Belarusian human rights activist.

Vitaly Shishov (1995 – 2/3 August 2021) was a Belarusian activist.

He was the head of the Belarusian House in Ukraine, an organization which helps people escape repression in Belarus following the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. At the age of 26, Vitaly went missing from his home in Kyiv and was found dead, hanging from a tree in a park near where he lived.

Personal life

Following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020, Vitaly was one of many Belarusians who fled the country.

Death

On 2 August 2021, Vitaly was reported missing in Kyiv by his partner after going for a run. By the next day, he was found hanged in a forested area of a park near his home. Ukrainian police opened a murder inquiry to determine whether he was killed and his death made to look like suicide. The head of Ukrainian police highlighted that his body has been found with abrasions and peeled skin in several places. 

Prior to his death by a week, Shishov helped in organizing a rally in Kyiv that marked the 31st anniversary of Belarus's independence from the Soviet Union.