Former Belarusian presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, currently serving a 14-year prison sentence, has been hospitalized with multiple injuries, according to a report by the “Rabochy Ruh” Belarusian workers' association citing several sources with knowledge of the matter.
Babaryka was reportedly taken from Navapolatsk penal colony No. 1 to Navapolatsk central municipal hospital on the night of April 25. The opposition activist has been admitted to the hospital’s surgery department, and his condition has been assessed as “moderate.” The union also reported that Babarika has been diagnosed with pneumothorax [an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall, which can lead to partial or complete lung collapse – The Insider].
“Rabochy Ruh” added that Babaryka was so badly beaten that the doctors did not recognize him until they saw his last name on his papers.
Babaryka, the former head of Belgazprombank, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July 2021 after being found guilty of bribery and money laundering. The arrest prevented Babaryka from running for president against Alexander Lukashenko.
Opposition politician Maria Kalesnikava, sentenced to 11 years in prison in Belarus, was placed in intensive care last November after being diagnosed with a perforated ulcer.