Political prisoner, beaten to disability, forced to work in colony and placed in punishment cell

Former customs officer Yauhen Hurynovich has been in custody since April 2022. According to human rights defenders, he was severely beaten during his detention, resulting in a serious spinal injury. For a long time, the man could not walk independently, used a wheelchair, and now moves with crutches. In 2024, he was officially recognized as disabled.

Despite serious health problems, human rights defenders report that in colony No. 15 in Mogilev, Hurynovich is forced to work in the industrial zone. To get to his workplace, he is forced to cover a significant distance on crutches. Furthermore, he regularly receives disciplinary penalties and, according to sources, is placed in a punishment cell without significant grounds.

Yauhen is serving his sentence separately from most other convicts — in the colony's economic unit.

The criminal case against Hurynovich was initially considered together with the cases of two other customs officers — Viktar Novik and Uladzimir Zhuramski. However, later, the materials concerning Hurynovich were separated into a distinct proceeding. The court process took place directly in Minsk Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1, as due to his health condition he could not remain in the courtroom for a long time.

The court found him guilty under several articles of the Criminal Code, including state treason, unlawful appropriation of computer information, and abuse of official power. As a result, he was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months of imprisonment.

According to information from the dissidentBY initiative, Hurynovich and his colleagues were involved in uncovering the smuggling of Belarusian cigarettes into European Union countries, including schemes in which, it is alleged, state structures might have participated. According to the authors of the investigation, this was the reason for their criminal prosecution.

Human rights defenders also report that after being beaten during detention, Hurynovich repeatedly ended up in the prison hospital due to severe back pain, could not get up independently after falls, and had to struggle for a long time to have his disability recognized. Only after additional examination in Mogilev did doctors confirm the seriousness of his condition.

Despite this, the colony administration, according to dissidentBY, continues to force him to participate in morning physical exercises and go to work. Human rights defenders note that other political prisoners regard such actions as a form of additional pressure and punishment for a person with a disability.

• 0
• 0
• 0
• 1
• 1
• 8
• 8
• 0