Political Prisoner Syarhei Skrabets Transferred to Prison Hospital :: Charter'97 :: News

A well-known oppositional politician, former deputy and the leader of the parliamentary group “Respublika” Syarhei Skrabets was transferred from Minks remand prison to a prison hospital. On September 26 Radio Svaboda was informed about that by the lawyer of the former deputy, Aleh Dubavets. State of health of Syarhei Skrabets, who is on the second hunger strike for the third week, has made doctors from the remand prison in Valadarski Street to send him to prison hospital.

The lawyer does not have a certain answer to the question, whether is Skrabets continuing the hunger strike. Family members of the former deputy do not have positive information as well. They are allowed to visit him only once a month.

At present lawyer Dubavets is studying the criminal case of his client which comprises 35 volumes. The lawyer thinks that it can be taken to court in two-tree weeks.

The younger brother of the political prisoner, Alyaksandr Skrabets, who is a party to an offence in all cases of his brother, but who stays free, says that in the last two weeks he is getting acquainted with the criminal case. He says that this week he is to finish that.

In April 2003 the first criminal action has been brought up against Syarhei Skrabets. He was charged with helping defraud Belarusbank of more than $500,000 million in loans, while serving as director general of the BelBabayevsky Trading House, and creation of a criminal group. The political prisoner has also been charged with inciting a dweller of Byaroza to give a bribe.