Life Of Belarusian Opposition Leader Mikalai Statkevich Is In Danger

The authorities are hiding information about its health.

Leader of the Belarusian opposition, political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, who was diagnosed with pneumonia after three COVID-19 cases in prison, may not be given medicines vital for his health.

This was reported by the wife of the politician Maryna Adamovich on Facebook:

“Back in October, they “lost” Mikalai’s written permission granting a medical parcel, and he got none of my letters during the subsequent month, and in these letters I persistently asked about that permission. This is all, of course, the fault of some “house elf”. Or have the letters got “lost” all by themselves? For more than a month the person was left without necessary medicines.”

The wife of the political prisoner also said that she still cannot get any information about the state of Statkevich:

“I called the colony looking for a person. I wanted to ask about Mikalai’s condition, talk to the doctor, see if he needed any medication. Yeah, sure. I don't think we need to talk about the results. The prisoner's health is a state secret, and it's impossible to talk to a doctor either.”

What are the confinement conditions of Mikalai Statkevich?

Belarusian opposition leader and political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich is held in inhumane conditions. On the first day of his stay in the colony #13 in Hlybokaye, the administration registered him as “prone to extremism”, and issued a striped robe.

At the beginning of August, he was transferred to a solitary confinement cell of three square meters, and since the end of June, the political prisoner has been regularly placed in a punishment cell.

What is Mikalai Statkevich known for?

In 1991, Statkevich announced the creation of the Belarusian Association of Military Personnel (Bielaruskaje Zhurtavannie Vajskoúcaú), which was aimed at “creating the Belarusian army, defending independence and educating society historically and patriotically.”

The birth of BZV, 20 August 1991

In 1999, Mikalai was one of the organizers of the Freedom March against the so-called “union state” and the policy of Aliaksandr Lukashenka. The Freedom March showed the world that Belarus is home to a people that chooses the European democratic path of development over medieval dictatorship and barbarism.

In 2005, Statkevich was sentenced to three years in prison for organizing a peaceful demonstration against the falsification of the results of the 2004 referendum.

In 2010, Mikalai was one of the presidential candidates in the elections. He was arrested after a mass demonstration against the rigging of the presidential election on December 19, 2010. Mikalai spent almost five years behind bars and was released only on August 22, 2015. After the release, Statkevich continued his struggle against Lukashenka's regime and took an active part in all protests.

On May 31, 2020, Mikalai Statkevich was detained on his way to the picket, and in December 2021 he was sentenced to 14 years in a special regime colony.

For his unparalleled courage in resisting the regime, Statkevich spent more than 10 years in prison. The politician was recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience three times. Even while in prison, Mikalai Statkevich remains a symbol of fortitude for Belarusians.

The website Charter97.org repeatedly draws attention to the fact that one of the main tasks in Belarus today is to release Mikalai Statkevich and other political prisoners.