Jauhien Vaskovich spent 247 days in penal cell

Since October 2011 a political prisoner Jauhien Vaskovich spent 247 days in a penal cell.

The report comes from the press-service of the organizational committee for creation of the party Belarusian Christian Democracy with a reference to the organization’s executive secretary Dzianis Sadouski.

According to Sadouski, the latest 10 days of a penal cell punishment Vaskovich spent starting from 27 December 2013 and celebrated New Year’s Eve in a lockup.

We would remind that the political prisoner Jauhien Vaskovich is serving the punishment term and strong pressure is put on him on the part of the administration of the penitentiary institution.

“The majority of so-called punishments are issued with the same wording: “for refusing to follow legitimate demands of prison staff”. On average Jauhien spends 15-20 days in a penal cell a month. At the height of 186 centimeters the political prisoner only weights 65 kilograms. This can be compared with the conditions in which the prisoners of the Soviet GULAG camp were kept or the fascist concentration camp. Also the letters and parcels reach Jauhien Vaskovich and come from him on an irregular and arbitrary basis”, - BChD’s press-service reports.

BChD urges human rights activists and international organizations “to express protest and call upon the administration of the prison to stop tortures of the political prisoner Jauhien Vaskovich”.

We would remind that Jauhien Vaskovich was convicted together with Arciom Prakapienka and Paviel Syramalotau. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges with an attempted arson of the KGB office in Babrujsk. He was put in a penal cell multiple times. Later on the political prisoner was transferred from a penal colony to the prison in Mahilou as a “malicious violator of the penitentiary regime”.