BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/04/2007

Police rule 2006 death of student from Belarus a suicide, but will review case again

The Associated Press

WELLS, Maine: Police in Maine have tentatively concluded that the 2006 stabbing death of a student from Belarus was a suicide, though the case will be reviewed again at the request of the governor, who was contacted by Belarus' U.S. ambassador, State Police said Friday.

Aliaksei Vasileuski, 20, of Shchuchin, Belarus, was found dead outside a boarding house in Wells on June 20 - two days after he arrived in the United States - with a stab wound to his neck. Vasileuski, a student at the National Technical University in Belarus, was working for a food vendor at a plaza in Kennebunk.

His death at the time prompted a formal protest from Minsk over what it said was poor security for Belarusian students in the United States.

Maine State Police said the case was closed about a month ago and the death was ruled an apparent suicide. However, the medical examiner's office ruled that Vasileuski died of a sharp force injury to the neck, but said the manner of death was undetermined.

Gov. John Baldacci asked state officials to review the case one last time after hearing last month from concerned Belarussian officials.

Officials at the Belarus Embassy in Washington last year insisted that Vasileuski's death was a murder and that police should pursue the investigation more forcefully. Pavel Shidlovsky, counselor at the embassy, told the Journal Tribune daily newspaper of Biddeford that embassy officials still believe the death was a murder and were upset they had not been informed that the case was closed.

"The governor said he shared our frustration and informed us he had contacted the commissioner's office and requested a review of the information and asked that they respond directly to the embassy," Shidlovsky said.

Shidlovsky said there was nothing to suggest Vasileuski would commit suicide.

He had never had psychological problems, and those who knew him at his schools and university characterized him as diligent, literate and balanced, Shidlovsky said.

Shidlovsky said there was nothing in Vasileuski's profile to suggest he would commit suicide.

He had never been seen by a psychiatrist or psychologist and had never had psychological problems, Shidlovsky said. Those who knew him at his schools and university characterized him as diligent, literate and balanced.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/13/america/NA-GEN-US-Boarding-Room-Death.php