New chief appointed to Navapołack penal colony

May 4, BPN. Rusłan Mašadzijeŭ, former deputy head, has replaced Andrej Palčyk as the head of Navapołack Penal Colony No 1, Viciebsk region, the MAYDAY human rights group reported.

Palčyk was known for giving orders to “beat, torture and keep prisoners in inhumane conditions,” the Viasna Human Rights Center said. Convicts and their families repeatedly complained about him to prosecutors and the Investigative Committee.

Opposition politician Alaksandr Kabanaŭ who had served a prison term at the Navapołack facility told BPN that Palčyk was personally involved in beating prisoners.

“About half of the inmates had cuts on their arms,” he said in an eyewitness report. “I met people with cut stomachs and necks, people who swallowed nails and blades, took apart their glasses and swallowed their parts. There were a lot of similar cases.” In this way, convicts tried to protest against the inhumane conditions, he said.

The inmates live in old barracks previously used by construction workers who built the Naftan and Palimir plants. Between 2014 and 2017 it was briefly used as a labor treatment center for alcohol and drug addicts.

Currently, 89 people convicted on politically-motivated charges are held there, including media manager Andrej Alaksandraŭ and former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka.

On April 25, Babaryka was hospitalized with signs of beating, Rabočy Ruch, a worker rights group, said. His family and associates have not received any information on his whereabouts and health condition since April 28.