Belarusian political prisoner Zmitser Dashkevich sent to maximum-security prison

A court hearing within the Mozyrska Prison Colony has ordered that Zmitzer Dashkevich, opposition activist and leader of the Youth Front be sent to a closed-type prison, i.e. maximum security prison for the duration of his sentence (until August 2013.).

The alleged reason is “persistent violation of prison rules”, and he was to be moved immediately. His family will only learn which prison after the move.

His fiancee, Anastasiya Palazhanka told the Belarusian Service of Radio Service that Zmitser expected it to be the Hrodno Prison.  She added that he could not have persistently infringed prison rules since he’d been put in a punishment cell immediately after arriving at the prison colony and then in a cell.

She says that they are trying to break him by making the conditions harsher and increasing restrictions.

Dashkevich arrived at the Mozyrska Prison Colony on 19 September and declared hunger strike two days later in protest at the inhumane treatment.

After being moved to a cell on 4 October he ended his hunger strike saying that his treatment had radically improved.

Zmitser Dashkevich was sentenced to two years in a labour colony on 24 March 2011 for alleged assault under article 339 (“hooliganism”) on 18 December 2010, the day before the election. Amnesty International believes the charges against him are unfounded and that the charges were fabricated in order to prevent him taking part in the demonstration on 19 December 2010. Since his conviction in March 2011