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Malaryta Farmer On Hunger Strike Got To Intensive Care

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Malaryta Farmer On Hunger Strike Got To Intensive Care
IVAN BIALCHUK

The trial of farmer Mikalai Bialchuk, who faced off police officers, has been rescheduled for December 2.

The Brest district court postponed the trial of Mikalai Bialchuk for "assaulting" a police officer due to the fact that the defendant was hospitalized.

It's been a month since Mikalai Bialchuk announced a hunger strike in the detention center, protesting against the lawlessness in relation to him.

According to Radio Svaboda, judge Pavel Hlavatski adjourned the trial till 11.00, December 2. The reason for the break was that the defendant was not present at the trial, as he was in intensive care.

The judge said that the court received a letter from the detention center №7, which reported that on November 29, Mikalai Bialchuk was hospitalized into the intensive care unit of the Brest Regional Hospital.

The judge received a request from Mikalai Bialchuk’s lawyers to change the preventive measure. The lawyers asked to release the defendant from custody until the end of the trial. The judge said that he couldn’t consider that request without the defendant's presence, but would do it when Mikalai Bialchuk is in the courtroom.

Mikalai Bialchuk’s relatives, who had come to the court, said they did not know that he was in hospital. Mikalai’s father, Ivan Bialchuk, believes that his son's health has deteriorated due to the hunger strike, which he has been on for a month.

Mikalai Bialchuk is tried for an incident of May 9, 2014, when the Bialchuks had a conflict with the employee of STP Siarhei Nialipovich over a self-made tractor in the village of Stradech in Brest district.

The policeman says that force was used against him. Mikalai Bialchuk’s brother Aliaksandr was sentenced to two months of arrest for that in 2014.

Mikalai was not punished, but two years later, on October 12, 2016, police arrived to the village of Arlianka in Malaryta district to detain him. On that day the Bialchuks had a conflict with the police, as a result, the riot police even used their service weapon.

The Bialchuks claim they did not know that those people were police officers, as they were not in the uniform and did not introduce themselves, but took Mikalai away. As a result of that conflict, Aliaksandr Bialchuk is now in jail, a criminal case for resisting the police was opened against him.

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