Igar Lednik is the fifth political prisoner to die in custody in less than two years, in a country with more than a thousand. He was serving a sentence for “defamation” of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarusian opposition activist Igar Lednik died this Tuesday in detention at the age of 64.
He was sentenced to three years in prison for “defamation” of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko due to a publication in a Social Democratic Party newspaper. His death was announced by his former political party as well as the NGO Viasna.
His health deteriorated considerably in prison, where he underwent stomach surgery.
According to Viasna, the death of the political prisoner was due to cardiac arrest.
According to this same NGO, Belarus currently has more than 1,400 political prisoners.
The human rights group also said Igar Lednik was the fifth political prisoner to die in a Belarusian prison in less than two years.
Human rights activists say there are 1,422 political prisoners in Belarus.