Inmates thrown to punishment cells for talking to with Byalyatski

The news was received from a former inmate of a penal colony in Babruisk.

The released prisoner of the Babruisk penal colony says the prison authorities punish inmates for talking to Ales Byalyatki and showing sympathy to him. Inmates can be moved to another barrack or deprived of privileges. The prison authorities say it's because Byalyatski does not want to repent, Radio Svaboda reports.

Alyas Byalyatski, the head of Viasna human rights centre, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison last November. He was accused of tax evasion. The human rights activist didn't admit his guilt and said all money on his accounts was spent on human rights activity.

A reason for criminal prosecution of Byalyatski was information about his bank accounts disclosed to official Minsk by Lithuania and Poland.

The European Union, the United States and international human rights groups consider Ales Byalyatski a political prisoner and say his sentence was politically motivated. They demand the Belarusian authorities to release the human rights defender.