Health Service assures politician that prisoners are kept in good conditions in Vitsebsk detention center
Having served five days of arrest at
the Vitsebsk detention center for spreading leaflets with invitation
to Freedom Day rally, the head of the Vitsebsk regional branch of the
Belarusian Popular Front Party Leanid Autukhou had to apply for
medical assistance.
According to the politician, he was taken
to the detention center completely health, but was diagnosed with
infectious quinsy after getting out. Leanid Autukhou thinks he most
probably caught the disease at the detention center, that's why he
asked the health service to check the implementation of the sanitary
norms at this institution.
"I think that I was infected
while being kept in custody at the detention center, due to the
negligence of its staff and the improper organization of the
maintenance of sanitary and epidemiological norms by its
administration. Taking into account that many citizens are placed in
the detention center everyday, it can become a source for mass
contraction of people," pointed Mr. Autukhou.
Recently
the activist received an answer signed by the deputy chief physician
of the Vitsebsk Regional Center of Hygiene Aliaksei Audzeyeu. The
official informed him that an inspection of the sanitary and hygienic
state of the detention center had been conducted and no violations
had been found. The cells are allegedly equipped with all necessary
facilities and the temperature in them was +20-22 degrees Celsius at
the moment of the examination.
"Before being placed to
the detention center, all persons are questioned by a medical
officer or a guard about the state of their health and are examined
on scabs, lice and infectious diseases... You cell mates didn't
complain about the state of their health and ambulance wasn't called
for them. According to the information of the registers of "Primary
examination and registration of medical assistance to the persons
taken to the detention center", there weren't registered any
cases of infectious diseases for the passed period of 2013."