Former prisoner appeals detention conditions

Mrs. Alena Dubovik, detained by riot police during a benefit concert in Minsk on 24 March and sentenced to three days of arrest, has lodged a complaint with the city’s prosecuting authorities against illegal actions by the police during her arrest and the poor detention conditions in Minsk detention center in Akrestsin Street.

“I was illegally detained by unknown persons wearing masks. A person in plain clothes who coordinated their actions hit me at the head, after which I felt unwell. The use of violence was not provoked by my behaviour, because I did not resist the arrest. One of those who detained me grabbed my mobile phone from me and injured my finger,” says Mrs. Dubovik.

The girl also stresses that the detention conditions in the prison where she had to serve her term are extremely poor, and constitute a violation of the Belarusian legislation, including the Constitution, the Code for Administrative Procedures and the prison’s internal regulations.

“The prison staff were constantly using foul language. After I was taken to the detention center, I was searched by a mail employee. I was then placed into a cell with eight more persons. There were no beds there. Nor were there any bed sheets or mattresses. The toilets in cells are situated only half a meter from the sleeping berth. There is a lack of natural light in the cells. It is very cold there, too, because the window is always open. Besides, everyone but me smoked in the cell. I was not taken for a walk. There was no drinking water in the cell. There were rats in the cell. The prison doctor refused to accept the inmates’ complaints,” says Mrs. Dubovik in her complaint.