May 15, Pozirk. Russian criminal police in Murino, Leningrad province, have arrested Uładzimir Martaŭ, an intensive care doctor known for his criticism of the Belarusian government, fontanka.ru reports.
Belarusian authorities reportedly ordered the arrest as a preventive measure, but the reasons are unknown.
Martaŭ had worked at the Viciebsk Emergency Hospital since 2003, where he headed the Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Department for five years.
He criticized the government handling of COVID-19, including disruptions in the supply of oxygen to the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Martaŭ linked the disruptions to the deaths of several patients at the end of 2020.
He was fired in early April 2021, following Alaksandar Łukašenka’s remark that he “should be put in his place.”
Martaŭ abandoned his healthcare career and adopted an active civic stance on social media, denouncing violence by the authoritarian government.
He left Belarus more than two years ago after serving a week in jail for displaying the banned white-red-white flag on his social media profile picture.
