Lukashenka’s rival Babariko hospitalized
Businessman Viktor Babariko, who intended to run in the presidential elections in Belarus and is currently serving a sentence according to the article about a large bribe, was hospitalized from the colony to the Novopolotsk hospital, his associates said on the politician’s Telegram channel on Thursday, April 27. “Friends. Yesterday there were rumors that Viktar Babaryka is in a hospital in Novopolotsk. We were able to confirm this information. Unfortunately, further details are not yet known,” the message reads.
Companions also reported that Babariko had not received written correspondence for about 2 months. Recently, he was constantly in a punishment cell.
Information about Babariko’s hospitalization began to arrive the day before. It was reported that the politician was taken to the hospital with scars from a beating so brutal that they didn’t even recognize him until they saw his last name.
Novopolotsk hospital confirmed that Babariko was placed in the surgery department, he was operated on.
Lawsuit against Viktor Babariko
Viktor Babariko is the former head of Belgazprombank. He was arrested in June 2020. Then the banker tried to register as a candidate in the elections, in which the authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko ran for the sixth consecutive term. Three days before the arrest, authorities placed Belgazprombank under his control, detaining top management on suspicion of fraud. The banker’s son was also arrested.
On July 6, 2021, Babariko was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in the case of large bribery (part 3 of article 430 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus) and money laundering (part 2 of article 235 of the Criminal Code of Republic of Belarus).
Amnesty International recognized Viktor Babariko and the other defendants in the case as prisoners of conscience.
Source: DW
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