Accessibility links

Breaking News

Another Political Prisoner Dies In Belarus Jail, Rights Group Says


People wait outside a jail in Belarus after a crackdown on protesters. (file photo)
People wait outside a jail in Belarus after a crackdown on protesters. (file photo)

A 22-year-old Russian man who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison on espionage and "facilitating extremist activities" charges has died in a Belarusian penal colony, the human rights center Vyasna said on November 1. Preliminary information indicates that Dmitriy Schletgauer died on October 11, less than a month after his transfer to Mogilev Colony No. 15. The cause of death was not disclosed. Schletgauer was tried earlier this year under two articles of the Criminal Code after being arrested in the crackdown on dissent that followed the disputed 2020 presidential election that handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term. Schletgauer’s death is the seventh of a political prisoner behind bars in Belarus since the crackdown. Schletgauer was born in Slavgorod, Russia, and acquired Belarusian residency in 2018.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Belarus Service

    RFE/RL's Belarus Service is one of the leading providers of news and analysis to Belarusian audiences in their own language. It is a bulwark against pervasive Russian propaganda and defies the government’s virtual monopoly on domestic broadcast media.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG