Imprisoned opposition activist Vinahradaŭ placed in punishment cell

August 30, BPN. Opposition activist and former Belsat TV host Pavieł Vinahradaŭ is in a punishment cell at Penal Colony No. 12 in Orša, Viciebsk region, his wife Sviatłana Vinahradava told BPN.

She said her husband has been kept in the punishment cell since August 23 and will remain there at least until September 2. Prison authorities branded him a “malicious offender of the regime” for a daytime nap.

Inmates in punishment cells are deprived of personal belongings, visits, purchases, and communication with the outside world. They are not given bedding or taken out for walks.

Sviatłana Vinahradava also said that her husband had not received a large parcel, which she delivers him every three months in line with the prison’s internal rules. Earlier, he was denied short-term and long-term visits.

Vinahradaŭ was diagnosed with active tuberculosis on August 8, a few days after his transfer to the penal colony in Orša where inmates with active tuberculosis are held and treated.

The activist was arrested in December 2021 and sentenced to five years in prison on charges of inciting hatred, defaming Alaksandr Łukašenka and actively participating in actions that grossly violate public order. Human rights groups declared him a political prisoner.

Vinahradaŭ was repeatedly arrested in 2020-2021 and jailed for violating the procedure for organizing or holding mass events.

In 2008, he was sentenced to two years of restricted freedom for his participation in an antigovernment rally.

Vinahradaŭ worked for the Tell the Truth campaign in 2010. He was arrested in 2011 after a protest against vote rigging in the 2010 presidential election and accused of organizing and participating in mass riots. He was sentenced to four years in prison and was pardoned later.