Belarus activist stabs himself in neck with pen during trial
- Dramatic scenes in Minsk courtroom as activist Stepan Latypov reportedly attempts to commit suicide
- He had been in jail since September, when he was arrested in protests against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko
A Belarusian political activist stabbed himself in the neck on the first day of his trial and was rushed to hospital, a rights group said.
Viasna, an independent rights group monitoring the trial of Stepan Latypov, said it believed the activist had tried to commit suicide following pressure in detention.
Thousands of opposition activists and protesters have been arrested and gone on trial in a harsh crackdown on anti-government demonstrations that erupted last year.
Latypov, 41, was detained in September and went on trial in the capital Minsk on Tuesday on multiple charges including creating protest symbols and resisting law enforcement.
Viasna said he appeared in court with bruises and that after his father was questioned Latypov climbed on a bench and stabbed himself in the neck with what appeared to be a pen.
The nearby guards could not open the prisoner’s cage immediately because they did not have the right keys, independent media outlet Nasha Niva reported.
“Stepan turned blue and lay down on the bench, an ambulance was called,” Viasna said.
Unconscious, he was taken out of the courtroom and hospitalised, Viasna said.
The Belarusian health ministry said later that Latypov had regained consciousness and his life was not in danger.
“All necessary medical measures have been taken,” the ministry said on its Telegram account.
“The patient is in a stable condition, there is no danger of death.”
Latypov had told his father he had come under pressure in detention, said Viasna, which along with other groups declared him a political prisoner last year.
Exiled opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on Twitter: “Belarusian activist, political prisoner Stsiapan Latypau cut his throat in the courtroom today.
“This is the result of state terror, repressions, torture in Belarus,” she added, using a different spelling of Latypov’s name.
Prominent opposition politician Andrei Sannikov said it was an “act of desperation” and another demonstration of the “murderous nature” of President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
Belarus was gripped by months of demonstrations that erupted after a disputed presidential election last August saw Lukashenko claim a sixth term in office.
Security forces cracked down hard on the protests, detaining and imprisoning thousands of demonstrators and pushing opposition leaders into exile. Several people died in the unrest.
Latypov was arrested in a Minsk courtyard that came to be known by some residents and media as the “Square of Change”.
Latypov had stood in front of a mural there to try to prevent state workers, accompanied by police, from painting over opposition graffiti.
He was charged with organising riots, resisting police and fraud, and also accused on state television of planning to poison the police. He denies any wrongdoing.
Belarus has faced a global outcry after Lukashenko’s government ordered the diversion of a European flight over its airspace on May 23 and arrested dissident Roman Protasevich who was on board.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters
