Belarusian prison bans inmates from helping blind political prisoner
Vatslaw Areszka / svaboda.org
The penal colony administration periodically bans inmates from helping political prisoner Vatslaw Areszka, who lost his sight behind bars. This was reported by human rights defenders at Viasna, citing a former political prisoner who was held with him in the same colony.
Areszka is 71 years old. He is a public figure and an activist of the REP trade union, which was declared an "extremist formation." He has been behind bars since 19 April 2022.
The political prisoner moves around the local sector and the unit on his own. But in other places he needs assistance: "Because he cannot see anything, it is very difficult for him to walk to the canteen or the medical unit — someone always accompanies him! This person is not always the same one, but different people."
The former political prisoner also says that the colony administration sometimes issues Areszka reprimands and penalties, but the reasons are unknown.
According to human rights defenders, the political prisoner is permitted telephone calls, but he has had no visits from relatives during his detention.
Areszka was convicted together with other activists from independent trade unions — Hienadz Fiadzinych and Vasil Biarasniow. They were sentenced to nine years each in a maximum-security penal colony, while he received eight. Biarasniow and Fiadzinych were released under a pardon.
