Political prisoner Mikalai Autukhovich on hunger strike for a week

The lawyer of the arrested entrepreneur from Vaukavysk doesn’t know anything about his state of health, and the Belarusian businessmen demand immediate release of political prisoners.

On April 16, leader of entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich went on hunger strike in the Minsk pre-trial detention center. He demands that the investigation should be carried out as soon as possible or the measure of restrain be changed. Mikalai Autukhovich pleads not guilty and demands that the case should be sent from the Ministry of Internal Affaires to the General Prosecutor’s Office for investigation. The political prisoner finds all accusations absurd. The entrepreneur is going to be on hunger strike until he, Uladzimir Asipenka, and Yury Lyavonau are not changed the measure of restraint.

Lawyer Paval Sapyolka told the Charter’97 press center he didn’t know anything about the state of health of Mikalai Autukhovich. “I am visiting him in the pre-trial detention center this week. I can now say that I haven’t received any information from him, so I suppose he has no problems with health,” the lawyer said.

The Coordinating Council of Belarusian Entrepreneurs adopted a statement demanding immediate release of political prisoners.

“Leader of entrepreneurs, political prisoner Mikalai Autukhovich went on hunger strike on April 16,” the statement of Belarusian entrepreneurs says. “We are proud of the courage of our colleague. We express our solidarity with political prisoners Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, Uladzimir Asipenka and their families. We thank the Belarusian human rights and political institutions that were not afraid to express their solidarity with the political prisoners. We thank representatives of international institutions that gave moral support to the political prisoners and demanded their immediate release.”

The businessmen think the hunger strike of Mikalai Autukhovich is aimed at lawlessness of the Belarusian authorities.

“In our view, hunger strike of Autukhovich is not only protest of an individual against a concrete political case,” the entrepreneurs say. “It is a struggle for the future of Belarus. Autukhovich’s hunger strike gives a chance for the civil and political structures that haven’t realized the cynical lawlessness of the authorities yet to show their support of the today’s political prisoners.

We demand immediate release of political prisoners! We call on all people of good will to do their best for we have no political prisoners in the country.”

It should be reminded that Vaukavysk Yury Lyavonau, Mikalai Autukovich, and Uladzimir Asipenka were detained on February 8. Their detention and search in their flats were authorized by the prosecutor of the Hrodna region. On February 18, the three businessmen were charged under article 218 of the Criminal Code (intentional destruction or damage to property of citizens).

Human rights activists regard the detainees political prisoners drawing attention to the fact M. Autukhovich and Y. Lyavonau were thrown into prison earlier and recognized prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.