BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

12/12/2006

Belarus Says Opposition Figure Ends Hunger Strike

VITEBSK, Belarus; December 12, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Authorities in Belarus say jailed opposition politician Alyaksandr Kazulin has ended his hunger strike after 53 days without food. The independent Belapan news agency cited an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying Kazulin had said in a written statement he wanted to abandon the strike. Kazulin's wife, Iryna, was prohibited December 11 from visiting her husband by prison officials who said she would be barred from seeing him until he began taking food. Kazulina told RFE/RL's Belarus Service she was skeptical about authorities' claims her husband had abandoned the strike. "Belapan called me and asked, 'Do you know that your husband is withdrawing from the hunger strike?' I answered I would be happy if that was true. But since I was not allowed [to see him] and I was sent back, I cannot believe them until I hear my husband's voice," Kazulina said. The 51-year-old Kazulin launched his hunger strike on October 20 to protest what the called the lawlessness of the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Kazulin also called for the United Nations Security Council to turn its attention to the political situation in Belarus. Kazulin, the former rector of Belarusian State University, was one of three candidates to officially challenge Lukashenka in the country's presidential elections in March. He was sentenced in July to 5 1/2 years in prison for his role in street rallies that followed Lukashenka's reelection. He has been imprisoned since September in the Vitsba-3 correctional facility near the city of Vitebsk, close to the Russian border. Iryna Kazulina said the continued harassment of her and her husband only emphasized her belief that "people are not much respected in our country." "I traveled 600 kilometers -- 300 kilometers to Vitsba-3 and 300 kilometers back -- to give my husband documents that in my opinion could provide grounds for him to withdraw from the hunger strike," Kazulina said. "But I was not allowed to meet with him even for five minutes or even to speak to him by phone." Kazulin's condition in recent days had been reported to be critical. The life expectancy for hunger strikes is generally judged to be between 42 and 73 days. Opposition leader Alyaksandr Milinkevich, who also ran against Lukashenka in the March presidential race, said December 11 that Kazulin remained in grave condition. Milinkevich was speaking to European Union lawmakers in Strasbourg, where today he will receive the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. (with agencies)

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