Inmates called for “conversations” for talking to Byalyatski

Inmates of Babruisk penal colony No. 3 cannot talk to human rights activist Ales Byalyatski.

BelaPAN news agency learned this from Alena Krasouskaya-Kaspyarovich, a deputy director of information and education group Platform.

According to her, Platform received a letter from a recently released inmate of the Babruisk penal colony. “He reports about pressure on human rights activist Ales Byalyatski. All inmates, who talk to Byalyatski, are called to the prison authorities for conversations. The colony authorities in fact ban prisoners to talk to the human rights activist and warn inmates about 'consequences' of violation of the ban,” Krasouskaya-Kaspyarovich says.

“We know from inmates that Byalyatski understands the situation. He tries not to provoke people and does not talk to those who can suffer from this,”  Krasouskaya-Kaspyarovich notes.

“The former inmate writes only the prisoners who show good behavior progress have the right to subscribe to Narodnaya Volya newspaper. Other inmates are called to the prison authorities and told the newspaper affords too much,” the Platform deputy director says.

These actions by the prison administration violate article 89 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Krasouskaya-Kaspyarovich thinks. Inmates are allowed to receive writing materials in parcels and postal packages, buy literature and subscribe to newspapers and magazines for own money in addition to the sum established for buying food and daily necessity articles, she says.