Psychiatrist Igor Postnov Died At The Novopolotsk Prison
3- 4.10.2026, 13:59
- 1,698
Photo: “Viasna”
In 2020, he sharply criticized Lukashenko for ignoring the coronavirus crisis.
Igor Postnov , a psychiatrist from Vitebsk, died at the Novopolotsk penal colony. He was 58 years old. This was reported on social media by /a> human rights activist Pavel Levinov reported this on his social media accounts.
Postnov was born in 1968 in Vitebsk. He graduated with honors from the local medical university, worked as a pediatrician for many years, and then received additional training in psychiatry.
In 2013, he began publicly criticizing shortcomings in the work of Vitebsk’s medical institutions. After making a critical statement on the “Belsat” TV channel regarding the activities of Alexander Kosinets, then-chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Postnov was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital where he had previously worked. He was held there for over a month, and after his release, he attempted to challenge both the court order that had sent him for treatment and the diagnosis he had received. In 2014, Postnov appealed to the Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia. They confirmed that he did not require treatment.
In 2018, Postnov was accused of defaming the Vitebsk prosecutor Yuri Romanovsky. In 2019, he was found guilty of “spreading knowingly false fabrications defaming another person (libel) posted on the Internet,” and was sentenced to three years of restricted freedom, to be served in an open-type correctional facility. He was released as early as July 2019. Postnov explained the circumstances of his release on social media in rather vague terms, mentioning that he “agreed to an amnesty” or a “deal.” At first, he complained of financial hardship, but then he applied to government agencies and was placed in a job in his field—as a psychiatrist at the Dokshytsy Central District Hospital. While working there, in 2020 he sharply criticized Alexander Lukashenko for ignoring the coronavirus crisis, a disease from which he himself had suffered severely.
According to some sources, Igor Postnov ended up in Novopolotsk Penitentiary No. 1 as a result of a conflict with the Dokshytsy District authorities. Postnov was threatened with “retaliation” for his principled professional approach. Exactly when the trial took place, what specifically the Vitebsk doctor was punished for, and how he was punished remains unknown, as Igor Postnov had no relatives and led a reclusive lifestyle.
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