Belarus political prisoners face abuse, no medical care and isolation, former inmate says

During his three years in a Belarusian penal colony, human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka says he and other political prisoners were regularly deprived of family visits, phone calls and parcels. “The Belarusian authorities deliberately create terrible detention conditions for political prisoners, which qualify as torture,” Sudalenka said in an interview with The Associated Press after he finished his time behind bars and fled to neighboring Lithuania. Belarus has cracked down on opponents of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko ever since the August 2020 election that gave him a sixth term in office in balloting that was widely viewed as fraudulent.