Chairman Of Belarusian Independent Trade Union Beaten Till Half-Death In Remand Prison

Doctors do not provide assistance to Mikalai Zimin.

Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions Aliaksandr Yarashuk reported on Facebook about the beating of Chairman of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union Mikalai Zimin in a pre-trial detention center. According to Aliaksandr Yarashuk, he is dying, and doctors do not provide him with help.

The chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions appealed to the International Labor Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation to intervene in the situation.

“Today, on August 15, 2020, the details of the detention of the former chairman of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union Mikalai Zimin in the pre-trial detention center in Lyuban became known from the released cellmates. According to their information, Mikalai Zimin was brutally beaten and practically does not move, is in critical condition, in fact - dying. At the same time, no medical assistance is provided to Mikalai.

Mikalai Zimin was sentenced on August 10, 2020 by the Salihorsk District Court to 25 days of administrative arrest for participating in a peaceful protest against the rigging of the presidential election in Belarus.

We ask for your urgent intervention, forcing the Belarusian authorities to provide immediate medical assistance to Mikalai Zimin and stop his beatings and torture.

Sincerely yours, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, Vice President of the ITUC, member of the ILO Administrative Council,” Aliaksandr Yarashuk wrote in his letter.