Opposition politician’s health deteriorating in prison – source

July 28, BPN. The health of jailed politician Mikałaj Statkievič has deteriorated in prison, a source close to his family has told BPN.

His detention conditions along with frequent punishment cell penalties make it almost impossible to find out more about his health, the source added.

Statkievič reportedly sees people only during the transfers from his cell to solitary confinement.

There has been no news about jailed politician for a total of 168 days, his wife Maryna Adamovič wrote on Facebook on July 27, noting that she had met with the chief of Penal Colony No. 13 in Hlybokaje, Viciebsk region.

Earlier, the local post office rejected a parcel with medicines for Statkievich. Adamovič said it was the first instance of rejection.

Statkievič, the chair of the outlawed Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), was arrested in May 2020 and is currently serving a 14-year prison term on charges widely seen as politically motivated.

He is one of several prominent politicians said to face severe punishment in prisons, others being former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka and journalist Ihar Łosik.