"Tired of Pain, I Would Rather Die": How Belarusian Political Prisoners with Serious Illnesses Serve Their Sentences
17- 28.04.2021, 12:29
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Many of them do not receive medical attention.
Convicted of alleged "violence against the police" Siarhei Verashchahin in the colony loses his sight. Aliaksei Ramanau, a person with disabilities of the second group in oncology, who allegedly "insulted the president," suffers from severe pain. Aliaksei Hubich, who was tried for “violence against the police,” reports Radio Svaboda, did not go to the operation and may go blind.
Siarhei Verashchahin, 30, was severely beaten by police on 12 August. From the window of his apartment in the center of Homel, he watched the harsh detentions. Therefore, he shouted at the police from the window and threw a plastic bottle in their direction. The security forces broke into his apartment and beat him severely - at home, and then at the ROVD. At the trial, Siarhei said that the police beat him, jumped over the head, insulted, and laughed at him.
The lawyer said that he received at least 100 blows in various parts of his body.
The defender made sure that Siarhei was taken to the hospital. There, he was diagnosed with a craniocerebral injury, numerous hematomas, and injuries, including the chest, cervical, thoracic, and lumbar ridge.
But a criminal case was opened against Verashchahin himself. After all, he allegedly kicked the policeman in the eye during the arrest, which "did not entail a short-term health disorder."
As a result, on November 26, judge Siarhei Salouski decided that Verashchahin's guilt was proven and punished him with imprisonment for 5 years in a general regime colony.
He was sent to serve his sentence in one of the cruelest colonies - in Hlubokaye.
Homel volunteer Illia Mironau received a letter from Siarhei. He shared a copy of the letter with the editors.
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"My soul is enveloped in pain, darkness, grief, and tears"
Among other things, Siarhei writes that he does not understand why he ended up in the colony, "for which my health was taken away - and, probably, I will never restore it because every day it gets worse and worse." “Now, on top of everything, I am losing my eyesight, this is how I am doing today, and I do not see the world. There is darkness in my soul, and my soul is enveloped in pain, grief, tears, and I do not want to wish for anyone what is happening in my soul, and no one will return my mother's tears. I am writing this letter to you, and my hand is trembling from the fact that I am left alone and no one needs me. Thank you for not forgetting about me,” writes Siarhei.
He thanks all the people who remember him and write letters.
"I have to endure it all"
A resident of Homel, Aliaksei Ramanau, was convicted on December 16, 2020, in a closed court for allegedly "insulting the president." Despite his disability in oncology, he was given a year in prison. He was sent to the colony in Hlubokaye. They put him on the preventive record as prone to extremism. This means that it is unlikely that Aliaksei can count on parole.
The other day he sent a letter to his friend from Homel. “On Thursday, they took me to the city, to the clinic, and did a routine examination. For the June commission of the MEDNC. There will be such a commission annually. At a consultation with an oncologist, the doctor said that they had found a new tumor, and immediately noted that it's benign. But I understand perfectly well that it is possible to determine its status only after research, and the results will be known only in the twenties of the month. To be honest, I am so tired of these pains, I would rather die... Do not despair, everything will be fine, let God take care of you, I will pray for you, and you pray for me,” Aliaksei wrote.
"He may lose his eyesight, he needs an examination."
A 24-year-old musician, a resident of Homel, Aliaksei Hubich, was tried behind closed doors. Initially, he was accused of having pushed a policeman on the march. But many videos that Aliaksei's relatives found testified that he did not push that policeman. Nevertheless, the young man was kept in custody and accused of pushing a policeman, whom no one knows, since the court was completely closed.
On February 4, the court found Aliaksei guilty of "violence against a policeman" and sentenced him to three years in prison. Also, Aliaksei must pay the victim 300 rubles in compensation.
After the trial, Aliaksei's mother said that he had a rare eye disease - keratoconus. If the operation is not done on time, the disease will lead to blindness. The operation was scheduled to take place last fall. “But now he is in jail. And without treatment, he will simply go blind," said the mother.
It is now known that Aliaksei was sent to serve his sentence in the Mahilou colony. He is also on a preventive record, which means that the administration has a special attitude towards him. Aliaksei has already been in the pre-trial detention center for seven days and has already received four warnings. Relatives say that he can forget about parole. Aliaksei's eyesight has deteriorated. He needs new glasses and a special examination. But while he is in the colony, “this is unrealistic,” the boy's relatives say.
