Mikalai Dziadok to serve another year in Horki colony

HRC “Viasna” has learned about the new place of imprisonment of political prisoner Mikalai Dziadok, who had been sentenced to another year in prison on February 26 for alleged willful disobedience to the prison administration. As reported by "Anarchist Black Cross", this is the colony for repeated offenders, known for its harsh conditions of detention:

"May 12, Mikalai Dziadok was transferred to the new correctional facility – colony No. 9. You can send letters to him on the following address:

penal colony No. 9, quarantine department,
Dobrolubov Street, 16,
213410, Horki,
Belarus.”

Mikalai Dziadok had been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for alleged hooligan attacks on official buildings and was to have been released March 3, 2015. However, on February 26 the court of Leninski district of Mahilioŭ sentenced political prisoner under Article 411 of the Criminal Code "willful disobedience to the administration of" to 1 year of imprisonment in a penal colony. April 30 the appeal court left the sentence in force.

As reported by lawyer Pavel Sapelka, PC №9 in Horki is designed for prisoners who have previously served a sentence of imprisonment. As previously reported by “Viasna”, this correctional facility is known for its harsch conditions, including beating of some of the by the “higher caste”, who are subordinated to the prison staff and receive preferences for implementing their orders.

The Human Rights Center "Viasna" also published an open letter of Mikalai Dziadok, in which he draws attention to serious human rights violations in detention, deficiencies of "correctional" institutions and his unfair punishment under Article 411 of the Criminal Code.

An activist of the anarchist movement, Mikalai Dziadok was convicted May 27, 2011 by the court of Zavadski district of Minsk on Part 2 of Art. 339 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism) of 4.5 years of imprisonment in a medium-security colony. The activist pleaded innocent and refused to sign the petition for clemency to President. While serving his prison term, at the end of May 2012 Mikalai Dziadok was placed to a cell-type facility for six months on decision of the head of Škloŭ penal colony. Before this, he had been repeatedly forced to sign the petition. During his stay at Mahilioŭ PC No. 15 and Škloŭ PC No. 17 he receved more than ten penalties for various wire-drawn reasons. As it became known on December 4, 2012, the special commission of the colony decided that Mr. Dziadok was to be transferred to prison because of receiving numerous admonitions for misconduct.

In November 2014, 3 months before the expiration of the term for Mikalai Dziadok, a new criminal case under Article 411 of the Criminal Code was instigated against him for "violation of the regime of serving his punishment". "Investigative actions" lasted two months. Then the prosecutor returned the case for an additional investigation for another month.

The authorities had punished former political prisoner Zmitser Dashkevich in a similar way. March 24, 2011, the leader of the "Young Front", was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment in a penal colony for alleged hooliganism. On August 28, 2012, he was sentenced one year of imprisonment, also under Article 411 of the Criminal Code.