News on the topic: detention conditions
22.03.2017 Prison monitoring report: “We cannot help everyone, but manage to highlight violations in prisons”
The Human Rights Center "Viasna" presented yesterday its annual report on the results of monitoring places of detention in Belarus.
24.01.2017 More deaths in prison: who is to blame?
An inmate has died in penal colony No. 13 in the northern town of Hlybokaje, according to the Belarusian Documentation Center. On January 4, Valiantsin Pishchalau, 30, died in an ambulance that was called to take the patient to the hospital. According to the penitentiary’s chief, the prisoner died of “acute cardiovascular failure.”
12.01.2017 Imprisoned human rights defender Andrei Bandarenka faces two more years in prison
Human rights defender Andrei Bandarenka, who is serving a sentence in prison in Mahilioŭ, has been formally charged under Part 2 of article 411 of the Criminal Code, ‘malicious disobedience to the correctional institution administration’. If convicted, he may be sentenced an additional term of up to two years.
14.12.2016 Prison doctors face charges over fatal incident in Žodzina jail
The Žodzina city department of the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the death of Ihar Barbashynski, an inmate of local jail, in September 2016. A notification received by the victim’s mother says that the case was opened under Part 2 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code (improper performance of professional duties by a healthcare practitioner, which negligently caused the death of a patient).
30.11.2016 FIDH: Andrei Bandarenka faces extention of his prison term under new criminal charges
FIDH denounces opening of a new case against imprisoned human rights defender Andrei Bandarenka, previously expert on monitored detention facilities. Even if his sentence in 2014 was not related to his human rights activities, FIDH considers the repeated criminal prosecution as a form of politically motivated pressure for his previous human rights activities and calls for dropping of charges.
25.11.2016 Imprisoned human rights activist Andrei Bandarenka faces fresh criminal charges
On November 14, the Mahilioŭ interdistrict department of the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 411 of the Criminal Code (“willful disobedience to the correctional institution administration”) against human rights activist Andrei Bandarenka, who is currently serving a 3-year sentence in prison No. 4.
21.10.2016 Doctor sentenced to three years over jail death
The Court of Maskoŭski district of Minsk has sentenced Aliaksandr Krylou, employee of a jail hospital in Minsk, to three years of imprisonment in a penal settlement, putting an end to the criminal investigation into the death of Ihar Ptsichkin.
20.10.2016 Authorities to investigate death in Žodzina jail
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the death of Aleh Bahdanau, an inmate of Žodzina jail No. 8, on 29 January 2016.
10.08.2016 Uladzimir Kondrus’s father: “We are shocked. He’s half dead”
On August 9, the parents of Uladzimir Kondrus, another person charged of involvement in the December 2010 rioting case, were allowed, for the first time in two months, to visit their son at the detention center in Minsk.
05.08.2016 Effective complaint? Unavailable for prisoners
In Belarus, prisoners do not believe in the effectiveness of complaints against the prison authorities. This lack of confidence is reinforced by legislative prerequisites that are analyzed by Pavel Sapelka, expert on penitentiary law. He also describes possible measures that could change the situation.
22.07.2016 Viasna calls to end harassment of Andrei Bandarenka and Mikhail Zhamchuzhny in prison
Ales Bialiatski, chairman of the Human Rights Center "Viasna", has sent a petition to the Minister of the Interior and the Prosecutor General, urging the officials to put an end to the harassment of human rights defenders Andrei Bandarenka and Mikhail Zhamchuzhny currently serving their sentences in Mahilioŭ and Navasady.
15.07.2016 Prison doctor to stand trial over fatal neglect
The Prosecutor General's Office has completed the investigation into the death of Ihar Ptsichkin in jail No. 1 of Minsk in August 2014. According to latest information, the criminal case against paramedic Aliaksandr Krylou will soon reach the court.
08.07.2016 Political prisoner Zhamchuzhny reports harassment in prison
Political prisoner Mikhail Zhamchuzhny is facing severe harassment ‘on all fronts’ in penal colony No. 14 near Barysaŭ, according to his recent letters.
08.07.2016 Provision of safe conditions for certain categories of prisoners in Belarus
It is generally accepted that prisoners, regardless of the nature of their offense, can enjoy all the basic human rights. These include the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
14.06.2016 Viasna demands respect for procedural rights of Eduard Palchys
Viasna demands respect for all the procedural safeguards and rights in relation to Eduard Palchys, who is currently held in custody in the detention center in Žodzina. In particular, he should be allowed to see his lawyer and be provided with appropriate conditions of detention and treatment.
