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Imprisonment conditions for Dzmitry Bandarenka are tantamount to torture, Ukrainian expert says

The imprisonment conditions for Belarusian opposition politician Dzmitry Bandarenka are tantamount to torture, Andriy Rokhanskiy, an expert with the Kharkiv-based Institute of Legal Research and Strategies, says in a statement posted on human rights website protivpytok.org.

Mr. Rokhanskiy, who holds a doctoral candidate's degree in medicine, says that people with back problems like Mr. Bandarenka's are registered in Ukraine as having a second-degree disability.

According to Mr. Rokhanskiy, after studying the available medical records, he concluded that the 48-year-old Bandarenka needs a rehabilitation course under the supervision of a neurologist, exercise therapy, massages and other procedures. The inmate should not bend, remain seated for long periods of time and lift anything weighing more than four kilograms, he says.

The denial of a walking stick and special footwear for Mr. Bandarenka may also be viewed as a form of torture, Mr. Rokhanskiy says.

Dzmitry Bandarenka, who was a campaign aide to candidate Andrey Sannikaw in the 2010 presidential race, was sentenced to two years in prison in April 2011. A district judge in Minsk found him guilty of instigating disturbances and participating in them in connection with a post-election protest staged in Minsk on December 19, 2010.

Mr. Bandarenka's chronic spinal problems became worse after his arrest, but his complaints of back pain and requests for medical help were ignored for a long time. His right leg became partially paralyzed and he was said to be in constant pain because of what turned out to be four herniated intervertebral discs and three trapped spinal nerves.

Mr. Bandarenka underwent back surgery in the National Prison Hospital in Minsk in July 2011 and was transferred back to Correctional Institution No. 15 in Mahilyow in late August.

A proper rehabilitation course after such operations normally lasts up to 10 months.

Constant pressure was put on Mr. Bandarenka to make him appeal to Alyaksandr Lukashenka for a presidential pardon. At the end of January 2012, the prison administration prohibited Mr. Bandarenka from using a walking stick and wearing special footwear and ordered him to attend roll calls and resume working.

On February 1, Mr. Bandarenka finally applied for a presidential pardon and was immediately given back his stick and allowed to wear soft shoes. However, there has not yet been any reply to his pardon application.

On March 2, an "interagency commission of experts" examined Mr. Bandarenka's medical records and concluded that he did not have a disability. This means that he will now be required to work as hard as other inmates in the Mahilyow prison. //BelaPAN