Mother of Ihar Ptichkin: Why did experts fail to determine cause of my son's death after 6 months?

Ihar Ptsichkin, an inmate of a temporary detention facility in Minsk, died of a cardiac arrest, but causes of it have not been found out.

RFE/RL learned it from Ihar's mother Zhana Ptsichkina, who cited the forensic examination report. On July 1, the woman spent most of the day in the Investigation Committee, where she got acquainted with the materials of the criminal case over her son's death.

According to Zhana Ptsichkina, experts focused on three probable causes of the cardiac arrest: a disease, drugs and bodily injuries.

“No traces of illegal drugs were found in my son's body. He had never complained about his heart before being thrown into jail. I wonder why they needed to carry out the examination that for six months didn't give an exact answer to the question why my son had died,” the woman asks.

The forensic examination failed to establish how Ihar Ptsichkin had received injuries.

It became known recently that investigators decided that Ihar Ptsichkin was a drug addict and opened a criminal case, where Ptsichkin is classified as a seller of smoking blends. The authorities of the detention facility say Ihar Ptsichkin developed a mental disease caused by a withdrawal syndrome, so prison guards had to isolate him in the medical unit and tie him to the bed. An officer of the medical unit was charged with failure to provide medical attention to the inmate that caused his death.

Ihar Ptsichkin's relatives suggested he had died after being beaten by prison officers and drew attention to traces of beating on his body.

An investigator said a new examination would be carried out by other forensic experts.