Yury Rubtsou stopped hunger strike and warning issued to him immediately

The political prisoner who is serving the sentence in the special facility #7 in the village of Kuplin of Pruzhany district, ended the hunger strike on February 1.

As said by him, it was impossible to continue the hunger strike any longer in the special facility for medical reasons. On the same day Rubtsou received an official warning under Article 415 of the Criminal Code for evasion from serving punishment. Yury Rubtsou considers that an utter nonsense. How could a person stay in the place for serving the sentence and at the same time evade from it, Viasna human rights writes.

And it’s no wonder that he demands to receive a job with an average salary of $600: everyone wants to live normally. Moreover, prisoners are to support themselves fully, and besides he has to help his family. While he had been put there though he is innocent, he says, why should his wife suffer living off one pension only. She needs not only food, but medicines, and she has to make other payments. Moreover, once again when Rubtsou asked whether the colony employees believe themselves the words of Lukashenka about the average salary of $600, officers answered that they believe him. “Then look for such a job for me,” the political prisoner said. “I am just asking an average salary.”

In October 2014 judge of Minsk's Tsentralny district court Natallia Vaitsekhovich sentenced Yury Rubtsou to 1.5 year in an open-type correctional facility for insulting judge Kiryl Palulekh, who had heard the activist's case in spring. Rubtsou came to the Charnybyl Way - 2014 rally wearing a T-shirt reading “Lukashenka, go away”.

Judge Kiryl Palulekh decided to try Rubtsou dressed like that, and the activist called him a “rascal”, according to the judge. The Minsk city court dismissed Rubtsou's appeal.

Viasna human rights centre and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee say sentencing Yury Rubtsou to a term in an open-type correctional facility gives grounds to consider him a political prisoner.