Paval Sapelka: “Mikalai Autukhovich behaves like a man completely confident that he is right”

The lawyer has met the political prisoner who is recovering after the hunger strike which lasted for three months.

Paval Sapelka has informed Radio Svaboda that juices and fruit have been brought to Autukhovich to the remand prison. He will need them on the transition stage after the huger strike.

Recovery after the hunger strike is to take many months, Paval Sapelka said.

“He is to drink juices, to try to squeeze juice out of fruits. It will take about 10 days. The next 10 days, if everything would be fine, he is to start eating porridge little by little,” the lawyer said.

Pavel Sapelka hopes that medical care of high quality would be offered to Mikalai Autukhovich in the remand prison.

“I hope medical control over his state would be provided,” Paval Sapelka said. “Autukhovich already has some experience, and primarily he is to act according this experience. But I have noticed that doctors who treat him show professional interest in his case”.

The lawyer Paval Sapelka characterizes his client in the following way:

“I found him to be a very interesting person. As for his position, he behaves as a man who is dead sure that he is right. I wouldn’t call that fanaticism. We have a very constructive dialogue with him. We have understanding of how to build defense in the future”.

As for Autukhovich’s case, Paval Sapelka does not comment on it, referring to a non-disclosure agreement. The lawyer said that even now when Autukhovich is in a grave condition, investigators can decide to carry out some investigatory activities with his participation.

“It is not forbidden by the law, but if Autukhovich won’t be able for that because of his state of health, he would say that,” the lawyer added.

As we have informed, Leaders of entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka were arrested on February 8, 2009. They were baselessly charged with arsons committed in 2005.

On July 16 Autukhovich announced the end of his hunger strike, which lasted for three months.

Belarusian human rights activists consider the arrested to be political prisoners drawing attention to the fact that Autukhovich and Lyavonau were convicted before and recognized prisoners of conscience by the international community.