Security Forces Call Reports of Pastnou’s Death in Prison Colony Fake

Reform.news Editorial Team · 5 October 2026, 16:53

https://reform.news/en/security-forces-call-reports-of-pastnou-s-death-in-prison-colony-fake/

A Telegram channel linked to the Belarusian security forces has claimed that reports of psychiatrist Ihar Pastnou dying in a prison colony are fake.

As evidence, the channel published a short video showing a man resembling Pastnou in prison clothing with a blank white identification tag. When the video is downloaded, its filename, assigned by the security forces, is visible — “postnov2.”

“Hello. Article 167, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus,” the man says without looking at the camera.

The video is filmed in a way that shows a calendar on the wall. It has today’s date, October 5, marked on it. However, this does not establish that the video was recorded on October 5.

It should be recalled that reports of Ihar Pastnou’s death in a prison colony in Vitsyebsk emerged on October 4.

Article 167 of the Criminal Code provides for liability for violent sexual acts. Part 3 covers “acts provided for by Parts 1 or 2 of this Article committed against a person known to be a minor, or acts that negligently resulted in the death of the victim, caused serious bodily injury, HIV infection or other grave consequences.” The punishment ranges from eight to 15 years in prison.

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Pastnou became widely known in 2013 after publicly criticizing problems in the work of medical institutions in Vitsyebsk. After appearing on Belsat TV, where Pastnou criticized the activities of then-Vitsyebsk Regional Executive Committee Chairman Aliaksandr Kosinets, he was forcibly placed in a psychiatric hospital. He spent more than a month there.

In 2014, Pastnou appealed to the Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia. Following an examination, specialists said he did not require psychiatric treatment.

In 2018, criminal proceedings were opened against Pastnou on charges of defaming Vitsyebsk Prosecutor Yury Ramanouski. In May 2019, a court found him guilty and sentenced him to three years of restricted freedom with assignment to an open-type correctional facility. By July of the same year, Pastnou was free.

He later worked as a psychiatrist at the Dokshytsy Central District Hospital. In 2020, Pastnou criticized Aliaksandr Lukashenka over the authorities’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pastnou was later imprisoned again. According to human rights defenders, he was held at Penal Colony No. 1 in Navapolatsk and subjected to harsh treatment by the administration. Former prisoners spoke of his difficult conditions and prolonged confinement in a punishment cell.