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“His Nose Dangled Back And Forth”: Relatives Refuse To Believe In Non-Violent Death Of Vitold Ashurak

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“His Nose Dangled Back And Forth”: Relatives Refuse To Believe In Non-Violent Death Of Vitold Ashurak
VITOLD ASHURAK

The appearance of the political prisoner shocked relatives and independent medical experts.

Two months ago, the death of an activist from Biarozauka Vitold Ashurak was reported. The political prisoner died in the Shklou penal colony under unclear circumstances. The man's relatives have not yet received the official results of the forensic medical examination.

Belsat talked with a close friend of Vitold's about the investigation and the conclusions of the independent expert made before the funeral.

In early July, Andrei Ashurak collected his brother's personal belongings from the Hrodna prison and the Investigatory Committee in Mahiliou. Clothes, watches, books and a stack of letters, which Vitold probably did not have time to read in the Shklou colony, where he was convoyed in early May.

ANDREI ASHURAK WITH A FAMILY FRIEND COLLECTS VITOLD'S THINGS. PHOTO: FACEBOOK PAGE OF VITOLD ASHURAK / FACEBOOK

The relatives hoped to receive the diary of a political prisoner, which Vitold had mentioned more than once and which he quoted in his letters to freedom. However, the diary was not found in the things. Then Andrei Ashurak wrote a statement for the return of the diary, which was advised by the investigator in the case of Vitold's death.

A close friend of the deceased activist Viktar (name changed for security reasons - edit.) told Belsat that the investigator did not know about the diary, but promised to visit the colony and confirm its existence.

“Vitold wrote to me and to many that he was keeping a diary, where he described living conditions and what happened to him. It is unlikely that he directly wrote about what was being done to him. He had a writing talent, was well-read and educated. I think those who knew him would have understood what it was about. But what he actually wrote is unknown.”

FAREWELL TO 50-YEAR-OLD POLITICAL PRISONER VITOLD ASHURAK, WHO DIED UNDER UNCERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE SHKLOU PENAL COLONY. BIAROZAUKA, BELARUS. MAY 26, 2021. PHOTO: BELSAT

Independent expertise

A check in the case of Vitold Ashurak's death has been underway for the second month. The investigator, according to Viktar, warned the relatives that the examinations would take a long time. Depending on their results, it will be determined whether a criminal case on Vitold's death will be initiated. However, will the data of the official forensic experts be made public, and will they be true? The people close to Vitold doubt it. Viktar says that the night before the funeral, an independent expert was invited to the house of Vitold Ashurak's mother to examine the body.

“I managed to take a photo. This expertise is also in progress. The doctor said that the nose was definitely not broken from falling on the floor, as they told relatives in the morgue. Vitold's nose actually dangled back and forth. We lifted the bandage, but the medic decided not to remove it. He said he was afraid that he might not put it back properly, as there were already signs of tissue decomposition. This indirectly suggests that he could have died not on May 21, but earlier.”

VITOLD ASHURAK. PHOTO: MOVEMENT FOR FREEDOM / FACEBOOK

Viktar claims that an independent specialist can only express assumptions and personal opinions about the causes of Vitold's death. To prove that the activist was killed, the results of official examinations are needed. For example, a histological expertise. It is not known whether these documents will be shown to the relatives. Victar, like other friends and relatives, does not believe that Vitold died a natural death.

“We are inclined to think that he was killed, no matter how painful it sounds. The murder may not be direct. Torture by hunger, lack of sleep is murder, a criminal offense. Vitold was athletic, wiry, fit, never complained of any heart issues. For the last 25 years, he has not seen a doctor. Even the video from the court shows that he is strong. How and who brought him to such a state?”

VITOLD ASHURAK. PHOTO: VOLHA BYKOWSKAYA / FACEBOOK

Victar recalls the edited fragments of the video of the Investigatory Committee, in which a man staggers and falls several times. The man says that he recognized Vitold in all the recordings, although many of the activist's relatives at first considered the video staged.

“I just didn't want to believe what was done to him. But I recognize him by the shape of his head and the curving of the back. He is very thin, emaciated, skin and bones.When they brought the coffin to the House of Farewell in Biarozauka, only two people lifted it and put it on a pedestal.

Vitold was conflict-free, Victar keeps on saying several times in a conversation. In the letters to a friend, the activist wrote that he addresses all the guards politely, so as not to lose humanity. Of all Vitold’s letters from Shklou, only two reached Viktar.

50-year-old Vitold Ashurak was a political and public figure. The activist was detained last year on September 19 at the bus station in Lida, when he was returning from a protest. His trial was held behind closed doors. Ashurak was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

In early May, he was transferred from Hrodna to Shklou colony #17, where he died under unexplained circumstances. At first, the relatives were told that the man's heart had stopped, and five days later they gave the body with the head bandaged from crown to nose. In the morgue of Mahiliou, they explained that they accidentally dropped the body when they were taking Vitold out of the refrigerator. In the death certificate, the exact reason for death is not specified.

In one of his last letters, Vitold reported that yellow tags were sewn onto political prisoners’ robes in the Shklou colony.

Vitold Ashurak had a wife, a mother, and a brother. Human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner.

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