One-legged political prisoner forced to walk without crutches, with hands handcuffed behind back: Uladzimir Hundar’s story
Relatives of the prisoners in the so-called Autukhovich case told Belsat that the accused had been transported to Hrodna prison. Thus, they believe, the authorities are preparing for the trial. Baranavichy activist Uladzimir Hundar is among the prisoners, he has a group 2 disability. Uladzimir’s relatives say that the prisoners are severely pressured and even tormented behind bars.
Uladzimir Hundar, activist and local historian from Baranavichy, has a group 2 disability. The 61-year-old man has no leg and has to use crutches or a prosthesis. His detention was announced by the KGB head Ivan Tsertsel on December 8, 2020. In February this year, the KGB put him, along with 11 other people, on the official list of terrorists believed to be associates of Mikalai Autukhovich. They accuse these people under Article 289 of the Criminal Code (“Act of Terrorism”). The date of the trial in this case is not yet known, but relatives say that the defendants in the case have already been gathered in Hrodna prison.
“It is known that the trial on the charges under Article 289 of the Criminal Code (“Act of Terrorism”) will be held in Hrodna. The priest’s family was also transferred from Brest, Mayorava too. That’s why they will pretend that the investigation is under way,” Uladzimir’s relatives say.
It is known that Mikalai Autukhovich was also transferred from Minsk to Hrodna prison.
“The food parcel was accepted in Hrodna on 14 December without any problems. We last saw each other in August. Also, there are no letters from him for quite a long time. So it’s very difficult to say how Uladzimir is feeling now. The last letter from him came on December 5 from Brest. He wrote that he was going to be transferred soon. Uladzimir thought he would be sent to Minsk. On December 9 it became known that he was taken to Baranavichy pre-trial detention centre. On December 10 in the morning he was transferred to Hrodna, and we haven’t received any letters from him since,” Uladzimir Hundar’s relatives say.
The prisoner’s relatives say that in general they learn about the transfer accidentally or through volunteers. Lawyers are not informed about this. However, the lawyers also cannot talk about the charges. All they know is that Uladzimir got acquainted with the case three months ago, but none of the relatives know the circumstances and details.
Pressure and torments behind bars
Earlier Uladzimir Hundar was kept in a pre-trial detention centre in Brest. There the prisoner was convicted under Article 366 of the Criminal Code (“Threatening and disobeying police officers”). The judge in Brest sentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment. Uladzimir was charged with this article after a search in his house. The activist allegedly interfered with the law-enforcers and threatened them.
“When he got from Minsk to Brest, they simply tormented him. They threw him one from solitary confinement to another. He started a hunger strike in protest. They just tried to break him. For a long time, there were no interrogations or investigative actions. But on a certain day he was told that he would be taken to the KGB in Brest for interrogation, and his lawyer was also invited there. As a result, the police officers handcuffed him behind his back, took away his crutches and told him that by order of the KGB investigator, he had to get to the car on his own. Can you imagine, without a leg, without crutches, with his hands behind his back in handcuffs. And he was told directly that it was the order of the KGB investigator from Brest to do so to him. It was at the moment when he went on a hunger strike and was in a punishment cell,” Hundar’s relatives say.
But despite this, the prisoner keeps holding on and even encourages his relatives. In letters, which are very rare, Uladzimir writes that he feels relatively well. In one of the letters, he asked his family to see a doctor and ask for the heart medication to be changed. It is possible that the one he has is not working. It is also known that his eyesight has deteriorated. He does not write much about himself, he says that everything is as usual, there is not much news, relatives say.
“Uladzimiris actually very strong. We are even surprised. Even during our meeting he expressed the opinion that nothing good would come of the situation in the near future, that he would have to spend more time behind bars. Maybe even much more. He told us that he had no hopes and rose-tinted glasses and was looking at the situation realistically,” said the prisoner’s relatives.
Correspondence with the prisoner is severely restricted by the administration of the pre-trial detention facility. Since his detention his relatives have met with him only twice.
“Uladzimirtells us not to worry about him, that he is not an enemy to his health. He is required to make some confessions, say some words, and he is ready to voice them. But only in order to get out of detention alive. He only receives letters from some of his relatives; no other letters are given to him. From time to time he receives empty postcards from one person, but no letters from him are given to Uladzimir. Nobody understands why such a blockade is taking place. We read on the Internet that even Mikalai Autukhovich receives letters from people. And we don’t know why they do that to Uladzimir, we don’t know what they want to show with it.
Uladzimir Hundar is 61 years old. The media say he is a former military man who served in Afghanistan. But his relatives say this is a mistake. In fact Vladimir was not in the military, but does know Mikalai Autukhovich.
“Uladzimir has had a chronic illness since 1998. At a certain time it started to aggravate. Eventually the treatment didn’t work, and to save him the doctors had to amputate his leg. After the operation Uladzimir had to undergo treatment once a year, he went to the hospital, where he was given special drips. Now, as Uladzimir thinks, if he is sent to a penal colony, he will be able to undergo treatment there. We have already contacted the doctor in order to schedule his treatment programme. It is noteworthy that the pre-trial detention centre categorically refused to provide him with treatment. But without proper treatment there is a danger that he might lose his other leg.
Despite his disability, Uladzimir was actively involved in social activities.
The Autukhovich case
KGB head Ivan Tsertsel spoke about the detention of “terrorists” at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly. The official list of “terrorists” announced by the KGB includes 12 people. They are considered associates of Autukhovich. Among them there are two disabled of the group 2: Halina Dzerbysh and Uladzimir Hundar. All these people are charged under Article 289 of the Criminal Code (“Act of terrorism”).
State media later said that in the ‘Autukhovich group’ Volha Mayorava administered the social networks, Halina Dzerbysh allegedly ‘monitored the facility’, Viktar Snehur escorted Autukhovich across the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
The Razanovich family were also declared “terrorists” (the list includes Dzmitry, Syarhei, Pavel and Lyubou Razanovich). Liubou Razanovich is a former businesswoman, her husband Syarhei is a priest of the church of St. Archangel Michael in Zhabinka district. Autukhovich lived in this family’s house for some time. However, even in the film “TNT of Protest” it is noted that “not all of them knew or guessed what was going on”, as Autukhovich “simply used them”.
