Mikalai Autukhovich had to go on hunger strike to receive prosthodontic treatment
As RFE/RL learnt from Autukhovich’s lawyer, Pavel Sapelka, the political prisoner was visited by dentists in a detention facility in Minsk.
According to Mr. Sapelka, dentists examined Autukhovich’s teeth and confirmed he needed an urgent prosthodontics.
‘As a result of the consultation, I was asked to give the address of the clinic where Autukhovich can get prosthodontic treatment. I have visited the clinic today, doctors agree to carry out an operation. I hope the detention facility administration will agree, as they promised, that treatment should be provided by dentists of that clinic,’ the lawyer said.
Sapelka didn’t say the name of the clinic. It is only known that the clinic is private where high prices, but public members have already started collecting money. Human rights activist Aleh Vouchak supposes it won’t take much time to collect the money.
‘I think we won’t have problems with financing, we’ll collect the money soon. The main thing is to find a good specialist, the rest is a technical matter,’ the human rights activist said.
Mikalai Autukhovich, an entrepreneur from Vaukavysk, has been kept in a detention facility in Minsk since February 2009. He has lost most of his teeth during this period, but hasn’t received a proper treatment. The administration says the jail in Valadarsakaya Street doesn’t have the necessary conditions for prosthodontics, while former prisoners say that the jail dentists pull teeth instead of curing them. In May, Mikalai Autukhovich wrote a letter to the deputy head of the Corrections Department about the dental treatment. According to the prisoner’s information, the letter wasn’t even sent from the jail. Autukhovich went on hunger strike on 16 June and warned he would start a dry hunger strike in five days if a meeting with a representative of the Corrections Department wasn’t organized. Information about Mikalai Autukhovich’s huger strike went to wide public. Prosecutor Gen4eral of Belarus Ryhor Vasilevich had to send a representative of the prosecutor’s office to meet with Autukhovich.
