Akrestsin detention center to be equipped with blankets and pillows

The detention conditions in Belarus have repeatedly been criticized by both national and foreign human rights organizations. It is the civil convicts who are subject to extreme conditions while serving their sentences: overcrowded cells, lack of beds, showers, walks, inability to receive parcels, low quality of food and water.

The Minsk city detention center in Akrestsin Street is characterized by high humidity, low temperature in winter and high temperature in summer, low quality of food, abundance of tuberculosis cases etc. IN 2008 the prison was prepared for reconstruction, but then the works came to a deadlock.

After their imprisonment at the detention center on 24 March, human rights activists Ales Bialaitski, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Iryna Toustsik, lodged a complaint with Minsk city prosecutor’s office against the unsatisfactory detention conditions.

The official reply by assistant to Minsk city prosecutor M.Herashchanka reads:

‘To eradicate the drawbacks, the internal affairs department of Minsk city executive committee signed a contract with the ‘IntestStroiProyekt’ enterprise to maintain measurement and evaluation of the object ‘Capital repairs with modernization of the building of the Offenders Isolation Center at 36 1st Akrestsin Lane. The stated works were performed in October-November 2008. The capital repairs with modernization of the buildings of the OIC (including the purchase of necessary furniture, equipment, bed linen etc.) was postponed to 2010-2011 due to objective reasons.’