Viktar Babaryka’s whereabouts, condition still unknown

May 16, BPN. The whereabouts and condition of jailed former presidential hopeful Viktar Babaryka remain unclear, his team’s Telegram channel says.

Neither the interior ministry’s correctional facilities nor prison hospitals confirmed his presence.

On May 2, his family members were denied a meeting with the head of the interior ministry’s department of corrections and continue their attempts to obtain an appointment.

On May 13, Minsk’s Detention Center No 1 told a volunteer for the former presidential contender’s team that Babaryka might be taken to a general hospital in Kaladzičy, a village outside Minsk.

On May 16, his lawyers are trying to meet with administrators of Penal Colony No 1 in Navapołack, Viciebsk region, where Babaryka was serving his 14-year prison term until recently.

A worker rights group reported Babaryka’s hospitalization with signs of beating and a collapsed lung on April 26. Two days later, his team said his whereabouts were unknown.

The banker-turned-politician, Babaryka, was arrested weeks before the August 2020 presidential election. In July 2021, the Supreme Court sentenced him to 14 years in prison on charges of large-scale fraud and legalization of funds derived from criminal activity.