Moscow, June 2, (dpa/GNA) – The suicide attempt of a political prisoner while in court during a trial in Belarus has caused a shock.
Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Wednesday said Stepan Latypov, who appeared to have stabbed himself in the neck, was “a new victim of the regime – and they are getting more by the day.”
Independent Belarusian media on Tuesday published video footage showing Latypov bleeding at the neck and being carried out of a court building in Minsk.
Earlier, Latypov had reported of torture in jail and said that he was told that his family and neighbours would also be persecuted if he did not plead guilty, according to the reports.
Latypov was taken to a hospital and his situation was stable, media reported, citing his relatives.
The 41-year-old arborist was arrested last September when he tried to prevent security forces from painting over a dissident mural.
The Belarusian judiciary accuses him of endangering public order, among other things. Human rights activists however consider him a political prisoner.
During the massive protests against President Alexander Lukashenko last year, Latypov had published videos critical of the government.
Some 30,000 people were detained during the mass protests last year, which broke out after Lukashenko’s reelection, which is widely seen as rigged.
Many of those detained are still in jail, and human rights activists repeatedly report of torture in the prisons.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on Belarus.
GNA