Alyaksandr Kamarouski: “Autukhovich will die if he won’t be stopped…”

A businessman from Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich continues his hunger strike in Minsk remand prison for 91st day.

27 Belarusian oppositional politicians and public leaders have addressed the political prisoner with a request to stop the hunger strike.

One of the initiators of this address, the chairman of the organising committee for creation of the War Veterans Movement “Fatherland Defenders” Alyaksandr Kamarouski, says in the interview to euramost.org that “nothing could be achieved by hunger strikes in our country”.

Over this time the state of health of Autukhovich has considerably aggravated, he has lost 35 kilograms of weight. As we have informed, Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka were arrested in early February on charges relating intentional arsons. It is known that the term of Autukhovich’s detention in custody has been extended to August 8. Last week the director of the taxi firm where Autukhovich worked Liudmila Paremskaya, and Afghan war veteran Kanstantsin Ulanau were detained.

“Mr Autukhovich, our dear friend!” the authors of the address write. “We sincerely and profoundly concerned by, your situation, your health, undermined by the war in Afghanistan and by counteraction to the Belarusian injustice and total lawlessness. You hunger strike has attracted attention not only to your case and the case of Yury Lyavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka, but reminded about the viciousness of the entire system of power in Belarus… Today we call upon you to stop the hunger strike immediately, which directly endangers your life, and to try to minimize its effect on your health, and to start restoring your health and energy. It is obvious today that your life would be advantageous only to your enemies.

“We have decided to clang all bells, as Mikalai Autukhovich can simply die,” Alyaksandr Kamarouski said. “And it seems to me that it won’t be advantageous to anyone, except the people who had initiated this case. And later, after the death, a person could be accused of anything. In three years a “gang of Afghan war veterans” could be created, so that everyone would be amazed. I want to repeat, it is essential for Autukhovich to stay alive.

- In the address you promised the businessman from Vaukavysk that your demands would be still voiced both in Belarus and abroad…

- Moreover, we have promised that both this case and issues of political prisoners and legal arbitrariness are to stay on the agenda not only of the democratic forces of Belarus, but of the world community. We will seek open trial, which we hope would show absurdity of accusations. I think that Autukhovich is ready for this court even today. And the investigation is not ready, so they are temporizing.

- To your mind, are hunger strikes effective in our country now?

- They are not effective at all. Right on the first day of arrest I asked to tell Mikalai about that. Please tell me what a human rights activist Yana Palyakova, who, having despaired to find truth committed suicide, has proved? Nothing, though it may sound distressing. One can be on a hunger strike for a week, to attract attention of the public, and that’s enough. But 90 days of hunger strike, that’s a suicide! The man has lost more than 30 kilograms of weight, he has lost health for dozens of years, if he would survive. And it is not clear what injections are made to him in the remand prison. There was a legendary general Evgeny Bacharou, a trooper commander. He was spotted in the presidential election, and dreamt to create a political party based on Afghan war veterans. I supported him then. He was placed to a police hospital, and suddenly died two months later. That is why I do not believe anyone now.

- How do you think, will Mikalai Autukhovich listen to you? Will he stop the hunger strike?

- I do not know, but we have done everything in power. However, by his nature he is a fighter, and nothing could be predicted. And the authorities must feel ashamed that they have such an attitude to the person who has gone through the war and had three war decorations. A person’s fate is nothing for this regime.