Reports suggest Russian man convicted of spying died from asphyxia

November 6, Pozirk. Mechanical asphyxia is the cause of the death of jailed 22-year-old Russian national Dmitry Shletgauer about a month ago, zerkalo.io reported, citing a source close to the family of the deceased familiar with the death certificate.

Shletgauer, who lived in Belarus since 2018, was given 12 years in a high-security prison on charges of facilitating extremism and espionage. No further details of his case are available because the trial was closed to the public. Rights groups considered his persecution to be politically motivated.

Mechanical asphyxia can be caused by hanging, strangulation, including plastic bag strangulation, as well as obstruction of the airway by food or foreign objects. This cause of death does not rule out murder, suicide, or accident.

A few days ago, Aleh Kuleša, of an association of former political prisoners, said that Shletgauer committed suicide, even though his family members ruled it out.

“Do we know all [the dead]?. .  There are many things we don’t know. Finding out everything will be a task for the future. . . [Alaksandar] Łukašenka has always killed and will always kill. This is his reality and cannibalism is his essence,” the activist said at last week’s rally in Warsaw.

Shletgauer is the seventh designated political prisoner to die behind bars in Belarus in recent years after Vitold Ašurak, Mikałaj Klimovič, Aleś Puškin, Vadzim Chraśko, Ihar Lednik and Alaksandar Kulinič.

Also read: Russian man convicted of spying dies in Belarusian prison