Political prisoner Parfiankou thrown into punishment cell

Vasil Parfiankou, an inmate of a correctional facility in Horki, was thrown into a punishment cell.

It happened at the end of April or in early May, Radio Svaboda learnt from activist Volha Mikalaichyk with a reference to the latest letters from the political prisoner.

“I received two letters, which were delivered to Minsk on May 9 and May 12. The previous letter was in April. He writes it's became a routine: he was transferred to a cell-type facility and then to a punishment cell. He didn't write how many days he had spent in the punishment cell. Usually, it's a term of 5 or 10 days. Prison officers regard this kind of punishment as fines, so staying in the cell-type facility can be extended for an indefinite period. It may happen so that he won't be transferred back to the normal unit,” Volha Mikalaichyk says.

On December 5, 20103, Minsk's Pershamaiski district court sentenced Vasil Parfiankou to one year in a maximum security correctional facility for “violating the rules of preventive supervision”. On February 11, Parfiankou was transferred from pre-trial detention centre No. 7 in Zhodzina to a correctional facility in Horki. The political prisoner has spent 27 days in the punishment cell.