A man imprisoned for publishing a caricature of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, died this Sunday in the custody of this country that represses all dissent, announced an NGO, which specified that this prisoner suffered from heart problems.
Nikolai Klimovich, 61, died in penal colony number 3 in the Vitebsk region, in the northeast of the country, the Viasna human rights center reported on Telegram, without specifying the cause of death. The NGO, whose founder, Ales Bialiatski, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, points out that the inmate was imprisoned despite the fact that he had a disability due to serious heart problems.
In December, again according to Viasna, he was arrested in the southern Pinsk region and charged with "insulting the head of state" for posting a satirical drawing depicting Alexander Lukashenko on social media.
Nikolai Klimovitch was released pending trial after feeling unwell during his pre-trial detention. But at the end of February he was sentenced: one year in prison.
"It breaks my heart to learn that political prisoner Nikolai Klimovich died in a penal colony," exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya reacted on Twitter. "If emergency medical aid does not reach other political prisoners, more will die," she added.
In power since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected in 2020 after a presidential election considered rigged that led to tens of thousands of people demonstrating for weeks. Mass arrests, forced exiles and very harsh prison terms imposed on activists and journalists have crushed this movement.
According to a list published by the Viasna center, the country currently has about 1,500 political prisoners. A list in which Nikolaï Klimovitch appeared along with the founder of this NGO, who is serving a 10-year sentence.
