Babaryka’s allies appeal to United Nations after hospitalization, disappearance

May 4, BPN. Allies of Viktar Babaryka, a former Belarusian presidential hopeful and banker sentenced to 14 years in prison on corruption charges that are widely seen as politically motivated, have filed an appeal with UN special rapporteurs.

The appeal follows the hospitalization of Babaryka in the surgical ward of a hospital in Navapołack after reportedly being beaten in prison, his former defense attorney Dźmitryj Łajeŭski wrote on Telegram.

Łajeŭski said that Babaryka had been denied access to his lawyer and family. He accused the Belarusian authorities of violating the politician’s rights and endangering his life.

“There is no clear information if he’s even alive,” he said.

A worker rights group reported Babaryka’s hospitalization with signs of beating and a collapsed lung last week. On April 28, his team said that his whereabouts were unknown.