The relatives of political prisoner Mikola Statkevich have received a reply from the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the politician’s situation.
According to the human rights group Viasna, the letter states that “Statkevich M. V. is serving his sentence in accordance with the verdict of 14 December 2021.” The location of Statkevich is not specified. The letter was published by Siarhei Sparysh.
Mikola Statkevich was among 52 political prisoners who were released on 11 September. All were transported to Lithuania. However, Statkevich refused to leave: he ran out of the bus and remained on the territory of Belarus. For several hours he stayed between two border checkpoints before masked men took him away.
Media reports previously claimed that Statkevich was held in a correctional colony in Hlybokaye, but these reports were never officially confirmed.
In September, Alyaksandr Lukashenka also commented on the situation, saying that the politician had been “taken back to Belarus.”
