At night ambulance crew saved tortures witness from police

• 16.08.2011, 17:18

On August 15 at about 10 p.m. Smarhon police detained Yuryj Lingo (Yury Linha) without giving reasons

Ucpb.org website was informed about that by a director of informational and educational institutation “Platforma” Andrei Bandarenka.

When Linha was taken to the police department, the report of “Platforma” issued on August 16 reads, a policeman hit him in the back and threw into the so-called “glass” (a small cell without windows in the police department), and he hit his head against the wall. The detainee was told that a report had been drawn against him for “drinking beer.” Linha demanded medical examination and asked to call in ambulance, as he was taken bad (he had undergone thyroidectomy). As said by him, doctors were called in only when he started to faint.

An emergency doctor gave Lihna two injections and asked policemen not to keep the patient in the cement “glass”. The detainee stayed in the police department till 3 a.m., until he came round completely. When he was able to walk, he was released and said he would be summoned to the court.

A day earlier, on August 14 in the evening, Yury Linha was taken from home to the local police department in a police car and taken to the office of the police chief, where two men in plainclothes were waiting for him. The former prisoner tried to contact the leadership of “Platforma”, but his mobile phone was confiscated. Only after that he was told that they had arrived from Minsk to check the facts of pressure on Yury by local police after his participation in a press-conference. These facts were publicized in mass media.

For two hours he was demanded to write an explanation that no pressure had been exerted on him, and “Platforma” chief Andrei Bandarenka gave mass media, charter97.org website in particular, false information. Finally Linha wrote that policemen had not applied physical pressure on him, but people in mufti refused to invite the lawyer Yury was talking about.

We remind that on August 1 a press-conference organized by “Platforma” informational and educational institution (engaged in issues of compliance with legislation in correctional facilities) was held in Minsk. Facts of tortures in Hlybokae colony were made public there. Yury Linha took part in the press-conference. He had been released from the colony recently. A mother of two prisoners of the same colony took part in the press-conference as well.

On august 12 Yury was summoned to Smarhon district Internal Affairs department, where he was to give explanation concerning the press-conference, and an administrative case was opened against him. According to Bandarenka’s information, Linha is charged with violation of the “rules of preventive supervision”, as he remained under supervision after being released from Hlybokae colony. Under these rules, he does not have a right to go outside Smarhon without permission from police.