Opposition activist Ihar Simbirow dies

Opposition activist and singer-songwriter Ihar Simbirow died on July 12 at the age of 40.

“Ihar died in the hospital,” Andrey Dzmitryyew, deputy chairman of the “Tell the Truth!” movement, told BelaPAN. “He has some brain disease. I talked to him not long ago and he seemed absolutely healthy.”

Mr. Simbirow, a resident of Asipovichy, was the “Tell the Truth!” movement’s coordinator for the Asipovichy district, Mahilyow region.

Ihar Simbirow was born in Asipovichy in 1972. In 1988, he moved to Ukraine where he graduated from Dnipropetrovsk Theater and Art College and then worked in a local puppet theater and was the bass guitarist in a band.

He returned to Belarus in 1998. In 2000, he was expelled from Belarusian Culture University and fired from his position as director of a youth art center for his opposition activities.

During the 2010 presidential race, Mr. Simbirow was a member of Uladzimir Nyaklyayew’s campaign team. He was present when the candidate was attacked and beaten up on December 19, 2010. He was sentenced to a 15-day jail term following the police crackdown on a post-election protest staged in Minsk that night.

Mr. Simbirow later served at least two more jail terms. In particular, on May 8, 2012, he was given a 15-day jail sentence on a charge of disorderly conduct for an open-air performance in a woody area near Minsk.