Politically imprisoned Svaboda journalist

Ihar Losik

may now be in SHIZA, and not in Medsanchastok, as human rights activists of "Viasna" reported on March 20.

As Svaboda learned, some time ago Ihar allegedly refused to "clean the premises", and he was threatened that he would be sent to SHIZA.

In response, Losik demonstratively cut his hand and neck with a blade in the presence of other convicts.

According to unofficial information, the incident took place on March 15 in Novopoltsk colony No. 1 of the enhanced regime, where Igor Losik is serving a 15-year sentence.

"This is a completely real situation," commented former political prisoner and Svoboda journalist

Aleg Gruzdylovich

.

- If a prisoner is put in charge of cleaning the premises, it causes exactly such a reaction.

Prisoners constantly clean their rooms.

But if they are forced to clean something else, most often toilets, then this automatically means the so-called "low status".

That's why they refuse to do it, end up in SHIZA, can injure themselves on purpose.

This regularly happens not only with "political" but also with criminals.

"Viasna" reports that Ihar injured himself while already in SHIZA, where he was on hunger strike for a long time.

There is no other source of such information.

As Svaboda knows, the lawyer last saw Igor in mid-February.

The meeting scheduled for March did not take place.

The defender, who came to see Igor in the colony, was informed that he did not write a statement on time for a meeting with his lawyer.

According to the version of the colony administration, which became known to Svaboda, Igor Losik now has a small scratch on his neck, his hand is also slightly damaged, it was bandaged.

The administration also insists that "there is no threat to the prisoner's life and health", and Ihar Losik is now not in the detention center, but in SHIZA.

It is not known how long Ihor Losik was placed in a penal institution.

It is forbidden for prisoners to write letters in SHIZ, so he will not be able to write to his parents until Igor's return.

At the end of March, Igor Losik should have a long-term meeting with them for a day (ordinary prisoners are given a meeting for two days, political prisoners - twice as long).

In addition, parents collected a large transfer with food and personal belongings weighing up to 50 kg.

Now the long-term meeting of Igor Losik with his parents can be canceled.

March 21 marked exactly 1,000 days of Igor's imprisonment.

On the same day, the Supreme Court of Belarus refused to satisfy the appeal of Igor's wife

Daria Losik

, her two-year sentence was left unchanged.

Criminal prosecution of Igor and Daria Losikov

Criminal proceedings were instituted against the administrator of the "RB Brain" community and the freelance consultant of Radio Svaboda Ihar Losik according to Part 1 of Art.

342 of the Criminal Code ("preparation for violation of public order") and Part 2 of Art.

293 ("preparation for participation in mass riots").

Losik was detained on June 25, 2020 after a house search in Baranavichy.

At that time, 167,000 people were subscribed to his Telegram channel "RB Brain".

Ihar Losik actively covered the events of the presidential elections of Belarus.

Human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner.

On December 15, after the second indictment, Ihar Losik announced a protest hunger strike and held it until January 25.

On March 11, 2021, Losik was charged with a new charge.

As a sign of protest, Igor injured his wrist in front of the lawyer and the investigator, and also announced a dry hunger strike.

For this, Losik was placed in the cell of Zhodzin remand prison.

He stayed there for five days, four of which he was on a dry hunger strike.

On December 14, 2021, in the pre-trial detention center-3 building in Gomli, judge

Mikalai Dolya

sentenced 6 defendants:

  • Ihar Losik

    was sentenced to 15 years in prison,

  • Artem Sakav

    - 16 years old,

  • Mykola Statkevich

    - 14 years old,

  • Dmitriy Popov

    - 16 years old,

  • Serhiy Tsikhanovsky

    - 18 years old,

  • Vladimir Tsyganovich

    - 15 years of imprisonment.

Daria

, the wife of Igor Losik,

was sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony (according to Art. 361-4 of the Criminal Code) for an interview about her husband, in which, according to the indictment, she "positioned herself as the wife of a political prisoner."

Daria Losik was sentenced on January 19, 2023 by the judge of the Brest Regional Court

Mykola Grigarovich.