Two participants of hunger strike of solidarity with political prisoners arrested before the parade
- 11.05.2009, 12:53
“Young Front” activists were detained when they left the BPF office to buy water.
BelaPAN learnt this from Anastasiya Palazhanka, one of the participants of the strike and deputy head of the “Young Front” organization.
According to her, two participants of the action, carried out by “Young Front” in the BPF headquarters, Yauhen Skrabets and Illya Nahorny, left the office on May 9 to buy some water. “They were detained by militia officers and guarded to the Tsentralny district militia department of Minsk,” Palazhanka told.
As another striker Mikalai Dzyamidzenka told, Skrabets and Nahorny spent three hours in the militia department. “Militiamen didn’t draw up any reports, didn’t explain the reason of the detention, even didn’t prove their identity for they allegedly knew whom to detain. The activists were kept in the militia department till the rally of war veterans ended in Minsk center, and then were released,” Dzyamidzenka told.
Medical workers visited the strikers on May 8 and 9. “But their recommendations were rather strange. They gave advice to take vitamins and drink dried fruit compote. Bu tin this case, it wouldn’t be a hunger strike. So, we think we won’t allow doctors in the office any more,” Palazhanka told.
“We’ve got a blood pressure monitor, so we can measure pulse and blood pressure ourselves. We don’t have a scale to monitor weight, we don’t have enough air beds. It’s not very confortable to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor for the fifth day of the hunger strike,” the participant of the action complained.
According to her, Andrei Tsyanyuta and Hleb Snorkin stopped indefinite hunger strike on recommendation of doctors.
On May 4, a number of political and public figures of Belarus declared themselves on hunger strike to support the detained entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk, who are kept in the Minsk pre-trial detention center #1. Among the participants of the strike are former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin, leader of the BPF party Lyavon Barshcheuski, former political prisoners Andrei Kim, Mikalai Statkevich, Syarhei Skrabets, leader of the coordinative council of entrepreneurs Alyaksandr Makaeu.
The participants of the hunger strike demand to free Autukhovich, Lyavonau, and Asipenka from charges, release them immediately, rehabilitate all political prisoners in the country, and stop persecuting people on political motives.