Mikalai Statkevich: “prone to assaults and escape”
Mikalai Statkevich
“I had forgotten to tell you – I am still considered “prone to assaults and escapes”. Therefore, each month a pedagogic talk shall be held with me”, 2010 presidential candidate and political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich wrote in a letter to his wife.
Maryna Adamovich: “in January 2012, soon after his transfer from the colony to the prison, it became known that he was urgently announced to be a malicious violator of the regime who “has not taken the path of reformation” and “prone to lead criminal way of life after the release”. This was in fact the pretext for toughening of regime of his imprisonment. He was also announced “to be prone to assaults and escape”, and this makes situation of a prisoner even more aggravated because he is to be more closely monitored by prison administration.
More than two years have passed, and recently, while being near the prison, I asked myself a question: “what about additional charges? Are they dropped?” And literally next day, I received the answer I quoted above. Mikalai has been still “prone to assaults and escape”, and pedagogic talks are held with him every month. In addition, it allows prison administration to arrange tighter monitoring of the cell – both through the door window and otherwise. His joke, however, is that he regularly “promises not to assault anyone here.” Such new old news.”
Besides, Maryna Adamovich notes that Mikalai Stakevich – like Mikalai Dzyadok who is kept in the same prison – wrote about the heat in the cell. “His cell, as it is clear from his letters, has a northern exposure, and the sun is seen rarely, only in spring and during summertime, but there was a suffocative heat even there. That is why Mikalai is worried about situation of those prisoners whose cells have southern exposure, and notes that “this is a serious price for the opportunity to see the sun in autumn and winter.”
Starting from December 2011, Mikalai Statkevich has been permanently kept in closed prison facilities – first in disciplinary and ward cells in Shklou colony, and from January 2012 – in Mahilyou prison. The length of prison regime for him is to end in January 2015. Afterwards, the politician is to be transferred to colony to serve the remaining two years.
