Political prisoners are threatened with rape

Political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich his daughter on 14 September. The daughter of imprisoned presidential candidate Mikalai Statkevich says that it was the first time when her father could talk to her since his arrest on 19 December 2010.

“We talked for about ten minutes. He asked how our life was and said some very important things. For example, he said he had been proposed many times to apply to Lukashenka for a pardon. He also said he was now the only political prisoner in the Shklou colony. The rest had to sign pardon petitions because they were threatened with rape. It was an impression that someone was standing near. I heard noise and then he said goodbye,” Katsiaryna Statkevich told RFE/RL.

“It your father has been reported to have injured his arm. Did he talk about his health?”

“I asked about his arm. He began to answer that it’s ok, he wears arm splint, it’s like wearing a cast. He stopped talking, I heard noise and then he began to ask about us again. He did not speak freely. I had an impression that someone controlled everything he was talking and stopped him. Then my father again began to ask about us, about my PhD thesis, my husband and his parents.”

Meanwhile, one of the recently pardoned political prisoners, Aliaksandr Klaskouski, confirmed being threatened with rape for the refusal to sign a pardon petition for Lukashenka.