Leanid Marozau, legal adviser to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said that the third suicide attempt by political prisoner Stsiapan Latypau is a logical result of the deliberate destruction of human dignity in Belarusian prisons.
“The story of Stsiapan Latypau is yet another tragic episode and further horrifying evidence of what political prisoners in Belarus are systematically subjected to. A third suicide attempt is the result of prolonged, targeted destruction of human dignity. Punishment cells, cell-type facilities, prison regime, constant pressure, deprivation of contact with relatives, lack of basic conditions, humiliation, isolation, endless penalties — all of this is used as a tool of psychological and physical breaking,” he said.
He recalled that recently released political prisoners report torture, cold, and total isolation, in which a person loses the will to live. Marozau also referred to testimonies of former political prisoners Maksim Sennik and Valiantsin Stefanovic, as well as Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski, who emphasized that the prison system in Belarus is designed not for detention but for suppression and destruction of the individual.
“That is why we must say it clearly: what is happening to Stsiapan Latypau is further proof that inhumane treatment of political prisoners in Belarus is a systemic policy of the regime. To date, nine political prisoners have already died in custody. And the regime is doing everything to ensure this continues. As long as political prisoners remain in prisons and colonies, their lives are at risk every day. We are doing and will continue to do everything to ensure they all return to freedom and safety,” the adviser said.
According to the human rights center Viasna, in July 2025 Latypau was transferred from Mahilyou Prison No. 4 to Correctional Colony No. 22 “Volchyye Nory,” where he was immediately placed in a punishment cell and then in a cell-type facility. There, he cut his veins and later received stitches. It is known that during his imprisonment he had requested solitary confinement.
Latypau first attempted suicide in the summer of 2021 in a courtroom by stabbing himself in the neck with a pen. After surgery, he was placed in Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1.
In the colony, Latypau faced pressure from the administration — he was repeatedly placed in punishment cells and a cell-type facility. In protest, he swallowed a razor blade and again cut his veins. After that, in the autumn of 2022, his detention regime was changed, and he was transferred for two years to Mahilyou Prison No. 4.
Stsiapan Latypau is an arborist and a resident of the “Square of Changes.” He was detained in September 2020, sentenced to 8.5 years in a high-security colony, and fined 300 base units. He was accused of creating a neighborhood Telegram chat, organizing a workshop producing protest symbols, and resisting police officers. Additionally, as director of the company Belarbo, he was found guilty of fraud. He did not admit guilt on any of the charges.
