Political prisoner Vaskovich kept in isolation

Colleagues and friends of Yauheny Vaskovich have not been receiving letters from him for the last few months.

Only his close relatives receive neutral messages without complaints, Viasna human rights centre reports.

“He says he receives fewer letters than I send to him,” Zoya, Yauheny’s grandmother, says. “I though he needed envelopes. I bought and sent a heap of them. But I receive only one reply to every three or four letters. I am waiting for messages from him, but it’s all in vain.”

Vaskovich’s other grandmother, Tamara, also says she began to receive fewer letters from her grandson.

“I check the mail box every day. Usually he does not write anything serious. He asks to send him religious books or go to church. I sent him a calendar he asked, but it was returned to me.”

Colleagues and friends of Yauheny do not receive any letters from him. Last year, activist from Babruisk Halina Smirnova received the only letter from him. Vaskovich did not write anything special and asked his friends to take care of them.

Halina Smirnova and Taisia Kabanchuk think Yauheny may receive their letters, but his replies are not delivered. Vaskovich’s grandmother Tamara supposes he receives letters only from relatives.

“I think Yauheny does not get letters from his friends. But they should not stop writing. I think it will be useful for prison guards to read these letters and see how other people respect him. We though he does not write them. I even asked him to send a letter to Taisia Kabanchuk, but he answered he had sent her a letter. It was a long time ago, but she has not received it,” Tamra Vaskovich says.