Detained “Platforma” activist brutally beaten in police department
Yury Chyhilejchyk, an activist of “Platforma” informational outreach group, was beaten beyond recognition.
Yesterday Yury was taken for interrogation to the police department of Zavadski district of Minsk. Director of “Platforma” managed to take a look at him while he was escorted,
“It is a spine-chilling awful sight. I have seen many things in prison, but what had been done to Yury was terrifying. His one arm was not functioning well, his face swollen and bruised all over. As his mother said, he was beaten all over. There is an impression he had been tortured for a long time, and that refined tortures had been used. A few days before detention, Yury was summoned to the police department of Pershamajski district and warned that there had been information disseminated that he should be detained and beaten with particular cruelty. Three weeks ago there was an attempt to plant drugs on Yury. He was openly warned that in case he is not going to stop cooperation with “Platforma”, he would find himself in prison. We sought explanation from representatives of Zavadski district police department concerning the fact of the battery, and we were told that Yury was beaten in the remand prison of Minsk,” Andrei Bandarenka informed.
Yury Chyhilejchyk was detained by policemen under unknown circumstances, on November 27 overnight. It is known for today that he is charged under Article 328 Part 1 (“Illegal drug trafficking”).
“We certainly realize that people with not entirely blameless reputation cooperate with us. But I do not believe that Yury is really guilty. He repeated many times that thanks to “Platforma” he started to live normal life,” Andrei Bandarenka stresses. As said by him, Yury Chyhilejchyk started cooperation with “Platforma” in July on his own initiative. Thanks to him a press-conference on tortures in Hlybokae (Glubokoe) penal colony was held, facts of tortures in Ivatsevichy evoked wide response. “Thank to Yury we have helped many political prisoners. Once Yury was a convicted inmate, he served a term and has authority with inmates, so he managed to obtain information from penal institutions without problems,” Andrei Bandarenka notes. He adds that “Platforma” will explore every avenue in order to defend its activist.
