Jailed opposition activist rushed to prison after rejected appeal

June 9, BPN. Authorities have sent jailed opposition activist Uładzimir Hundar to Penal Colony No 2 in Babrujsk, Maholiu region, on June 7, a source told BPN, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

He was transferred the day after the Hrodna Regional Court rejected his appeal against the third criminal sentence given for insulting a prosecutor.

Hundar was sent to the penal colony directly from the Hrodna prison’s punishment cell, where he had been placed until June 10. It is unclear whether he had time to “properly prepared for the trip,” the source noted.

Earlier, the activist temporarily lost his hearing in the punishment cell.

Hundar, whose leg had been amputated, was first sentenced in May 2021 for allegedly assaulting a police officer during a search. He was later accused of being a member of a resistance group led by Mikałaj Aŭtuchovič, a businessman and activist who was convicted of terrorism and attempted coup in October 2022.

In April 2023, Hundar received an additional two-and-a-half years for insulting the prosecutor at his trial with his cumulative prison term amounting to 20 years.

Human rights groups consider him a political prisoner.