Arrested dissident Autukhovich gains weight after hunger strike

Jailed Belarusian businessman Mikalay Autukhovich gained three kilograms in the last seven days following his three-month hunger strike, RFE/RL Belarus Service quoted Ala Mikheyeva, a prison doctor, as saying.   Mikheyeva said that Autukhovich is feeling better and has started to eat porridge.

 

Autukhovich, Lyavonau and Asipenka were apprehended in armed raids in their hometown of Vaukavysk, Hrodna region, on February 8. Police said that they were suspected of perpetrating a series of arsons and explosions targeting the property of local officials and of illegal possession of explosives and firearms.

 

Human rights defenders fear that their arrest might be politically motivated.