Геннадий Смоляк. Фото: @marta_guliay
Belarusian activist and journalist Hennadz Smalyak, who went missing nearly a month ago, has been found in Catalonia. This was reported by Radio Svaboda, citing his former wife, friend and colleague Marta.
Smalyak is currently receiving hospital treatment. No details have been disclosed about where he was or what happened during the time he was missing.
Smalyak’s disappearance became known in June. It was later reported that he had been seen near Barcelona on July 6. On that day, he was spotted near his former place of residence. He was walking through the streets but was in poor mental condition and did not appear to understand what was happening.
According to Marta, the main theory was that Smalyak had stopped taking the medication he needed, causing his mental condition to deteriorate severely. As a result, he became disoriented and may have lost his way.
According to relatives, in the weeks leading up to his disappearance, Smalyak had rarely left home, had almost no contact with other people, and was in a depressed emotional state. A similar episode had reportedly occurred earlier this spring.
His relatives and friends encountered difficulties when trying to report his disappearance to the Spanish police, as such reports are usually accepted only from immediate family members, and Smalyak has no close relatives in Spain. They did not consider filing a report through the Belarusian authorities because he faces political persecution in Belarus.
The 36-year-old Smalyak helped homeless people restore their identity documents while in Belarus, took part in the Food Not Bombs project, worked as an orderly at a psychoneurological care facility, and was involved in volunteer initiatives. After leaving Belarus, he lived in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Spain. Abroad, he worked as a journalist for various media outlets, including the media project Not today, not yesterday, not tomorrow.