A Belarusian man who was in prison awaiting trial on charges of insulting authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has died in custody, the country's leading human rights group said today, quoted by the Associated Press, BTA reports.
Alexander Kulinich, 51, died on Tuesday in a detention center in the western city of Brest, which is known for its harsh treatment of opposition activists, the Viasna human rights center said.
The official cause of death was ischemic heart disease, but exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for an investigation and for international pressure on Belarus to stop the mistreatment of political prisoners.
Kulinich was arrested on February 29 after posting on social media opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and criticizing President Alexander Lukashenko, who has stifled the opposition and independent media since taking office in 1994.
The crackdown on dissent has intensified sharply following a wave of mass protests that swept the country following the August 2020 presidential election, the disputed results of which gave Lukashenko a sixth term. Some 35,000 people have been detained in connection with the protest wave, with many reportedly tortured in custody.
From "Vyasna" claim that there are currently nearly 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, including the group's founder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski.