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Former senior Belarusian KGB officer Mikalai Varapai has died in Prison Colony No. 1 in Navapolatsk, the Viasna Human Rights Centre reported. According to the rights group, his death occurred in 2024.
Varapai was not recognised as a political prisoner. According to the official version, he was detained in 2017 on suspicion of passing classified documents related to the Zapad-2017 military exercises to the Ukrainian security services. He was charged with espionage.
In January 2024, state television aired a documentary about his case. In it, Varapai admitted guilt, said he considered the sentence fair and did not intend to appeal it. At the same time, he said his greatest fear was dying in prison.
According to Viasna, Varapai, like a number of other convicted prisoners, was asked to sign a petition for a presidential pardon. After he refused, the rights group says he came under pressure. KGB officers allegedly visited him regularly in the prison colony, demanding that he sign the relevant documents. He was later placed in a punishment cell, where the visits reportedly continued.
According to the human rights group, Varapai died in 2024 while being held in the punishment cell. Sources cited by Viasna said a stroke may have been the cause of death. There has been no independent confirmation of this information.
In the prison colony, Varapai wore a white identification tag. In recent years, such tags have been used for prisoners convicted under articles not classified as political.
Human rights organisations have previously said that conditions in Belarusian punishment cells are harsh and inhumane and can significantly worsen prisoners’ physical and psychological health.