Arrr! A scurvy landlubber in Belarus, imprisoned unjustly, meets his untimely demise 'cause o' shoddy medical care, says a noble band o' rights defenders.
2024-01-15
Avast ye! Word be spreadin' that Vadzim Khrasko, a landlubber trapped within the clutches of Belarus, be havin' kicked the bucket from pneumonia! The scurvy authorities be ignorin' his need for proper healin', arrr!
A political prisoner in Belarus, Vadzim Khrasko, has died in prison due to a lack of proper medical care, according to a human rights group. Khrasko, an IT specialist, was serving a three-year sentence for supporting opposition groups that the authorities labeled as "extremist." He died of pneumonia in a penal colony near Vitebsk after prison officials ignored his pleas for help and delayed taking him to a hospital. The respected Viasna human rights center reported that he died on January 9, but the penal colony only recently disclosed his death.Another political activist, Leanid Sudalenka, who served his sentence at the same penal colony, revealed that he almost died when COVID-19 spread through the facility. Sudalenka stated that political prisoners were singled out with yellow tags on their uniforms, making them easy targets for bullying and mistreatment by guards. The methods of abuse ranged from punishment cells and isolation to denying access to lawyers and medical care.
Tragically, other prisoners have also perished in Belarusian prisons. Artist Ales Pushkin died from a perforated ulcer after receiving no medical attention, while Vitold Ashurak's body was handed over to his family with a head bandage. These instances highlight the harsh conditions in Belarusian prisons and the authorities' crackdown on opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Following the disputed August 2020 election, which triggered massive protests, Belarusian authorities have arrested over 35,000 people and shut down independent media outlets and NGOs. More than 1,400 political prisoners, including opposition leaders and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, are currently imprisoned. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader, has called for an investigation into Khrasko's death and emphasized the urgent need to prevent further fatalities due to inadequate medical care in Belarusian prisons.