Fresh probe launched in Valadarka prisoner death case

On December 4, the body of Ihar Ptsichkin, who died in Minsk’s prison in Valadarski Street in August 2013, was exhumed. However, his relatives have not yet received the results of the second autopsy, nn.by reports.

“The expert’s findings are ready. But Mother has not yet been allowed to read it; they say the investigator does not have enough time to meet with her, because he is busy with one more case at the same time,” says Ihar Ptsichkin’s sister, Iryna.

A representative of the Investigative Committee, Yulia Hancharova, says that a probe has been launched following the results of re-examination in order to assess the medical aid provided to the victim ahead of his death.

Ptsichkin’s relatives also stress that after his death Ihar became a defendant in another case related to drugs.

“Ihar’s friends have been summoned to the Investigative Committee, they have been asked which cars my brother used and where he drove. They said that Andrei N. was facing criminal charges. And he allegedly testified that Ihar had been selling spice. But we found Andrei, and he said that he was just a witness. My brother is dead – and you can say anything of him now. Mother was also called to testify. This is because we understand that a criminal case was opened against Ihar. Who else, when all are just witnesses?” says Iryna.

“You have inaccurate information. He has nothing to do with any case,” said another representative of the Investigative Committee in Minsk Aliaksandr Herasimau.

Ihar Ptsichkin, 21, died in prison on August 4, 2013. He was serving a three-month arrest for driving without a license.

At a meeting with the prison head, Ihar’s relatives were told that on August 3 the prisoner suffered a “psychomotor agitation”. As a result, he was taken to the medical unit, where he had to be fixed with soft straps. The posthumous photographs of Ihar Ptsichkin that were posted online show numerous bruises all over his body.

Investigators say the death might be caused by negligence on the part of a prison paramedic who was on duty on August 3.

Ihar Ptsichkin’s relatives staged on September 14 a protest outside the jail demanding investigation of the case. As a result, they were detained. They believe that Ihar was badly beaten before his death.