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Jailed investigator Svyatlana Baykova said to be affected by health problems, low morale

Svyatlana Baykova suffers from serious health problems and a low morale, Mikhail Volchak, the lawyer of the senior investigator who has been held in custody since this past February, told BelaPAN.

He did not elaborate. Neither did he say what investigative activities with regard to Ms. Baykova were being carried out.

Ms. Baykova, a senior investigator with the Prosecutor General’s Office who investigated charges against a former chief of the State Control Committee's Financial Investigations Department and other people involved in a high-profile smuggling case, was arrested by KGB officers on February 25.

The arrest warrant, issued by KGB chief Vadzim Zaytsaw, accused the investigator of illegally dropping charges and abusing her office, offenses penalized under the Criminal Code’s Article 399 and Article 426, respectively, according to the source.

In late April, Prosecutor General Ryhor Vasilevich rejected a request for extending the detention of Ms. Baykova because of a lack of evidence that would substantiate the charges against her.

In June, the KGB produced additional evidence suggesting that Ms. Baykova abused her office in 2006 and 2007 by instituting criminal proceedings against certain people and ordering their detention.

Mr. Vasilevich extended her detention by another two months on June 24.

Ms. Baykova went on hunger strike on May 21 and ended it on June 16 after urgent requests from her family, lawyers and doctors.

In a letter this past June, Ms. Baykova asked Alyaksandr Lukashenka to ensure her release and give her the opportunity to help him combat corruption, insisting that the power abuse charges brought against her by the KGB were unfounded.