Mikhail Marynich dies at 74
He was a former minister of foreign trade and political prisoner.
Marynich's death was reported by the website Charter 97 referring to the relatives of the politician.
Marynich was a minister until 1999, later he became the ambassador of Belarus to Latvia. During the presidential election campaign in 2001, he wrote a letter of resignation to take part in the presidential elections. But he dropped out of the race after he was not able to collect the required number of voter signatures and was not registered as a candidate.
After the election he headed an international public organization Belarusian Association Business Initiative. In April 2004 he was arrested, in December 2004, he was sentenced to five years in high security prison with confiscation of property. The court found him guilty of misappropriation of office equipment. He was released early in April 2006. In 2010, the UN Committee on Human Rights recognized Marynich victim of political repression.
