Babaryka’s relatives still don’t know where he is – team

May 2, BPN. Viktar Babaryka’s relatives are still unaware of his whereabouts or health condition, the politician’s team has said.

The former presidential hopeful’s relatives unsuccessfully tried to meet with officials of the interior ministry’s department of corrections today. They continue to seek information about and a meeting with Babaryka.

“We urge all international organizations and diplomatic missions present in Minsk to assist us in getting information about Viktar Babaryka’s condition,” the team wrote on Telegram.

On April 28, it said the whereabouts of the jailed former presidential hopeful were “unknown.”

The banker-turned-politician, Babaryka, was arrested by security officers weeks before the August 2020 presidential election. The arrest prevented him from registering his candidacy for the race despite turning in 425,000 voter signatures, four times as many as required by law.

One year later, the Supreme Court sentenced him to 14 years in prison, finding him guilty of large-scale fraud and legalization of funds derived from criminal activity.

Rabočy Ruch, a worker rights group, reported the politician’s hospitalization with signs of beating and a collapsed lung on April 26.

A source told BPN that “a patient with the last name Babaryka, born in 1963,” was admitted to Navapołack’s hospital. Doctors reportedly confirmed a pneumothorax. Another source said the patient might have too much fluid in his lungs.

On April 27, the politician was still at the hospital’s surgical ward with a moderate illness, his team said.