Former would-be Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2021 on corruption charges he and human rights activists say were politically motivated, has been hospitalized after reportedly being severely beaten in prison.
Medical personnel at a hospital in the northern city of Navapolatsk told RFE/RL on April 27 that Babaryka was in the facility's surgery unit.
No further information was provided but Mediazona quoted hospital staff as saying that Babaryka's status was "satisfactory."
Telegram channel Rabochy Rukh (Labor Movement) cited sources as saying Babaryka was taken to the hospital overnight on April 24-25 with signs of multiple beatings.
The Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
The channel said later that "Babaryka is in the surgery department, his condition is moderate, he has a pneumothorax (a collapsed lung)," adding that he was beaten to the point where he could only be identified by a prison ID tag on his shirt.
Exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged the Belarusian authorities to allow his lawyers and relatives to see him and to let the public see how he looks.
"Any other acts will be considered as the premeditated infliction of bodily harm and threat to his life," Tsikhanouskaya said in a statement.
The 59-year-old Babaryka was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021 on charges of bribe-taking and money laundering that he and his supporters have called trumped-up and political retribution for challenging authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Babaryka, the former head of the Russian-owned Belgazprombank, was arrested in June 2020 as he was trying to register as a candidate to run against Lukashenka in a presidential vote critics and observers say was massively rigged.
Three days before Babaryka's arrest, Belarusian authorities took control of the bank and detained several top executives on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.
Lukashenka was declared the victor of the August 2020 election, triggering protests by tens of thousands of Belarusians. The demonstrations lasted for months as Belarusians demanded Lukashenka, in power since 1994, step down and hold fresh elections.
At Lukashenka's direction, security forces cracked down hard on demonstrators, arresting thousands and driving most leading opposition figures out of the country.
Several protesters were killed in the violence and rights organizations say there is credible evidence that some of those detained were tortured.
Lukashenka denies voter fraud and has refused to negotiate with the opposition led by Tsikhanouskaya, who supporters say actually won the August 2020 election.
The European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 68, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the "falsification" of the vote and postelection crackdown.
