Political Prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny Never Leaves Punitive Confinement

This seriously affects his health.

Political prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny, after leaving the cell-type premises, where he was placed for a month for “numerous violations of the regime”, continues to receive penalties from the administration of the penal colony #9 in Horki, human rights center “Viasna” informs.

On October 20, the day of his release from the cell-type premises, Zhamchuzhny was punished with 9 days in the punitive confinement for refusing to go to the detachment, and on leaving the punitive confinement he received 9 days again, and then another 8 days, immediately, for the same refusal to go to the detachment. Thus, the political prisoner almost never leaves the walls of the punitive confinement cell, which seriously affects his health.

Mikhail Zhamchuzhny’s problems began after his transfer to the Horki colony, where, with the connivance of the administration, the conditions intolerable due to cruelty and degrading nature were created for him, to serve his sentence. The bullying campaign related to the establishment of informal relations among the prisoner swas organized against him .

In addition, while still at the cell-type premises, he was deprived of a short meeting for the refusal to clean the cell.

As it became known to human rights activists, with the arrival of the new head of the colony, nothing has changed significantly in the life of Mikhail Zhamchuzhny: penalties are handed down, as before. However, there are fewer problems with writing explanations on the penalties imposed, personal conversations are held with him, he ise allowed to sign in documents.

According to Zhamchuzhny, he served 270 days in the remand prison from October 1, 2017 to October 2018. Apparently, this practice continues now, after the political prisoner leaves the cell-type premises.

Founder of the Platform Innovation Mikhail Zhamchuzhny was convicted in July 2015 by the Vitsebsk Regional Court to 6 years of imprisonment in a penal colony. On October 23, the boartd of judges on criminal cases of the Supreme Court considered the cassation appeal and imposed a mre severe punishment on Zhamchuzhny - six and a half years in prison.

He was convicted for the crimes under Parts 1, 2 of Article 376, Part 5 of Article 16, Part 1 of Article 375, and Parts 1, 2 of Article 431: incitement to deliberate disclosure of information constituting official secrets; illegal acquisition and sale of a special technical device intended for secretly obtaining information, including of a repeated nature; bribery and repeated bribery. Belarusian human rights activists recognize Mikhail Zhamchuzhny as political prisoners.