EU urges to provide adequate medical care for Babariko
The European Union expressed its concern about the state of health of former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babariko, who was reportedly hospitalized with signs of beatings. “We call on the authorities to ensure their safety and provide immediate and appropriate medical care, as well as access to lawyers and family members,” EU Foreign Service Spokesman Peter Stano said on Thursday, April 27.
The statement notes that several political prisoners were recently hospitalized after they were allegedly subjected to prison violence. “The EU once again demands the immediate and unconditional release of Viktar Babaryka and all political prisoners. The EU will continue its efforts to ensure justice for victims and hold perpetrators accountable,” the document reads.
Babariko was transferred from the colony to the hospital
On Wednesday, April 26, several Belarusian Telegram channels reported that Viktor Babariko, who intended to run in the presidential elections in Belarus and is currently serving a sentence for receiving bribes and money laundering, was hospitalized from the colony to the surgical department of the Novopolotsk hospital . According to Babaryka’s associates, 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.
“The hospital has confirmed the presence of Babariko’s patient. Unfortunately, other details, including the reason for hospitalization and the details of Viktor’s condition, are not yet known to us,” Babariko’s spokesperson Gleb Germanchuk told DW On thursday.
Lawsuit against Viktor Babariko
Viktor Babariko, former head of Belgazprombank, 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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