Aliaksandr Kabanau: Provocation Against Babaryka Could Take Place

The former political prisoner spoke about the detention conditions in Penal Colony No 1 in Navapolatsk.

Political prisoner Viktar Babaryka was hospitalized. This was announced on April 27 by the headquarters of the politician. The former banker is now in surgery at the Navapolatsk Central Hospital.

What could happen to Babarika? The Charter97.org website spoke with former political prisoner Aliaksandr Kabanau, who was also imprisoned in Penal Colony No 1 in Navapolatsk.

"The most strict camp is the 'Number One' camp, people are taken there only for punishment. There is such a slogan in the camp, you can even hang it on the gates of the colony: 'Convicts are not human beings, the convicts must suffer.' The administration does not hide this. When you try to defend your rights, they laugh and say: 'Don't you understand where you are? Convicts are to suffer.' It exists there.

I do not know what exactly happened to Babaryka. But in the camp it is quite common practice to beat people and create terrible conditions. When I found out that he spent two months in a punishment cell in the winter, I was shocked, it is very difficult to endure. Windows and ventilation are open there even if there is heating in the cell. It is clear that there is no mattress or pillow. The conditions are as harsh as possible. Two months is terrible, of course.

I can say for sure that they are taken out of the camp only in emergency cases. There is a medical unit in Penal Colony No 1. They want to solve all the possible issues there, not to attract attention.

What could happen - there are several options. It was not employees who could beat Babaryka, they were trained to beat without traces. They can beat only if a person starts to defend. Then everything comes into play. There were also such cases because any patience can come to an end, the convict can not hold on anymore. I think that this could hardly have happened to Babaryka.

Administration employees use other methods quite often: with no bruises or scratches. Moreover, I know for sure that recently, one employee was detained for beating prisoners. A person was freed or his relatives managed to get the beating traces registered, as a result, senior lieutenant Ihar Aliaksandravich Petrou was arrested and is under investigation now.

Babaryka was in the cell-type premises. Perhaps there was some kind of 'inter conflict' provoked by administration officials. They can put conflict and insane persons in one cell, it's impossible to talk to them. They may show aggression and start conflict after a single word. They try to keep such people separate. However, they can put a bunch of them together in one cell in order to arrange provocation.

My assumption is this: they gathered certain people and threw them into a cell with Babaryka. Because when I was in prison, he had no conflicts with other convicts. I won’t say that he was treated very respectfully, not as a boss, but he had no conflicts.

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