Mikola Statkevich, a Belarusian political prisoner who was among the 52 people released by the Belarusian authorities on 11 September and who refused to leave Belarus, has again been imprisoned.

Source: Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva, citing a verified source, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to Nasha Niva, Statkevich was placed in the penal colony in the town of Hlybokaye, where he had previously been held. No further details have been provided.

On 11 September, the 69-year-old Statkevich appeared in the neutral zone between Belarus and Lithuania. Media published surveillance camera images showing a man resembling Statkevich sitting between the checkpoints at the Lithuanian and Belarusian borders.

It was reported that representatives of the Belarusian opposition and Statkevich’s wife did not know of his whereabouts after he refused to cross the border.

In 2010, Statkevich was a presidential candidate. After taking part in a protest on 19 December 2010, he was sentenced to six years in a maximum security prison and released in 2015. He later actively participated in political campaigns and protests.

In May 2020, before the protests began, Statkevich was arrested. He was sentenced to 14 years in a special regime colony on charges of organising mass riots.

Background:

On 11 September, Belarus released 52 political prisoners. They crossed the Belarusian border and are now in Lithuania. Among those released was an employee of the EU delegation in Belarus.Belarusian political prisoners who were released on 11 September and deported to Lithuania compared prison conditions in Belarus to medieval torture.The United States lifted sanctions on the Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia.

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