Vigil held in Kyiv for Belarusian activist Vitali Shishov

Hundreds of Belarusian exiles gathered in front of the country's embassy in Ukraine on Tuesday evening to honour activist Vitali Shishov, who was found dead in Kyiv in the morning.

Shishov ran the Belarusian House in Ukraine, a group helping Belarusians fleeing persecution.

The Belarusian activist went for his usual run on Monday, but he never returned. Friends were searching for him through the night. He was found hanged on Tuesday morning in a forest in the easternmost part of Kyiv.

Police have opened an investigation and are working on two theories, suicide or "murder disguised as suicide".

But the Belarusian community in Kyiv is convinced he was killed by people connected to Belarus' president. Alexander Lukashenko was reelected last August but critics say the vote was rigged. The election sparked widespread protests and a brutal crackdown on dissent, sparking some Belarusians to flee to other parts of Europe, including Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.