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Belarusian journalist Igor Lednik Cha Mort to prisonHe was serving a sentence for an article published in 2022, which, according to the authorities, defamed President Alexander Lukashenko.
Lednik was serving a three-year prison sentence, and his health condition has deteriorated since his imprisonment. The Social Democratic Party explained through its account on the Telegram application that the former journalist and politician underwent gastrointestinal surgery, in addition to suffering from heart problems.
Former presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, one of the main figures in the opposition against Lukashenko, was left “shocked” by the death of a “tireless freedom fighter”. “This death is a tragic symbol of the brutality of the Lukashenko regime. It must answer for every death, for every lost hero.”
Saddened by the death of political prisoner Ihar Lednik, one of the leaders of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party and a tireless freedom fighter. This death is a tragic symbol of the brutality of Lukashenka's regime. You must bear responsibility for every death, and for every hero lost. pic.twitter.com/tkj4JIQz6j
– Sviatlana Tsihanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) February 20, 2024
With Lednik, according to the Viasna portal, there are already five political prisoners who have died in prison in Belarus since the repressive escalation in 2020, which broke out after the controversial elections in which Lukashenko was re-elected. The opposition and much of the international community refused to recognize the results as fraud.
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