Reserve lieutenant colonel Aliaksandr Kulinich, accused of insulting Lukashenka, died in the Brest pre-trial detention center. At the same time the health condition of the political prisoner, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, deteriorated sharply.
The death of reserve lieutenant colonel Aliaksandr Kulinich is reported by “Zerkalo” on the basis of evidence from two unrelated sources.
Aliaksandr Kulinich was detained on February 29 in Brest. He was accused of insulting Lukashenka. Since then, he has been in jail and awaiting trial, which was scheduled to take place on April 16. On April 9th, the man died. In the Brest pre-trial detention center No.7 they said that they had a prisoner with that name, but refused to confirm the fact of death. According to the sources of “Zerkalo”, the body of the deceased has already been given to relatives. He would have turned 52 tomorrow. Aliaksandr Kulinich is scheduled to be buried on April 11 in his native Maladechna.
In turn 61-year-old political prisoner, the head of the Human rights center “Viasna” and Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski has been held behind bars for 1,000 days. Natallia Pinchuk, the wife of the political prisoner, told the Associated Press that Bialiatski has been in solitary confinement for the last six months, despite his chronic illnesses.
“I learned from people who got out of prison that Ales’ condition continues to deteriorate and he is not receiving some of the medicines he needs,” Natallia Pinchuk said.
She also called on the UN to “act more actively” to help Bialiatski and other political prisoners in Belarus.