English

Kavalenka transferred to jail

Syarhey Kavalenka has been transferred from the Navinki psychiatric hospital to the detention center on Valadarskaha Street in Minsk, the wife of the 37-year-old opposition activist told BelaPAN on Wednesday.

Alena Kavalenka said that she did not know where her husband might be moved next.

"He may be brought back to the detention center in Vitsyebsk, where he was held for two months after his arrest," she said. "He cannot be sent to a correctional institution because his sentence has not yet taken effect."

Mrs. Kavalenka expressed outrage that her husband had not been given enough time to recover from his debilitating hunger strike. She said that she viewed the fourth transfer in two months as a form of pressure.

Although the results of a psychiatric examination of Syarhey are still unknown, he would not have been moved if he had been found mentally ill, Mrs. Kavalenka said, adding that the doctors' report was expected to be released before May 9.

Mrs. Kavalenka revealed that an inmate had attempted to murder her husband at the national prison hospital in Minsk. "Beefy guys were placed in Syarhey's cell to provoke and insult him," she said. "One day Syarhey lost his patience and punched one of them in the face. The bully grabbed him by the neck and tried to smother him. Syarhey could not fight because he weighed less than 50 kilograms. Fortunately, someone called police officers."

Mrs. Kavalenka said that her husband had been subjected to what could be described as torture while he was staying at the prison hospital. "There was wind blowing through his cell when he came back after showers, weak from hunger," she said. "He couldn't sleep because the lights were kept on all night. My husband is alive only because of his courage."

Syarhey Kavalenka, a member of the Conservative Christian Party, was sentenced to a suspended three-year prison sentence in 2010 for putting a white-red-white flag on top of Vitsyebsk's tallest Christmas tree in early January.

On December 19, 2011, Mr. Kavalenka was arrested at home on a charge of violating probation rules and placed in a detention center. He was on hunger strike since his arrest and reportedly lost nearly 40 kilograms of weight.

On February 24, he was sentenced to two years and one month in prison.

Four days later, Mr. Kavalenka was transferred from the Vitsba 3 correctional institution near Vitsyebsk to the national prison hospital in Minsk.

In late March, he was moved to the medical unit of the Vitsba 3 prison.

On April 1, doctors began force-feeding Mr. Kavalenka with a Belarusian-made milk formula. He was said to be given the formula through a tube up to six times a day and get glucose, amino acids and vitamins intravenously.

On April 10, a panel of the Vitsyebsk Regional Court ordered Mr. Kavalenka placed in a psychiatric hospital for a comprehensive examination, while simultaneously postponing a hearing on the opposition activist's appeal against his prison sentence until the examination findings are known.

It was reported on April 13 that Mr. Kavalenka had voluntarily ended his hunger strike.