British man on hunger strike in Belarus prison

Iraq-born British national Alan Smith who is serving a prison term in a Belarusian colony has begun a hunger strike. In the summer of 2017, he was sentenced to two years in a colony for assisting illegal migrants who had come to Belarus from Iraq. According to the investigators, the foreigner acted in a group, which also comprised two Belarusians. Smith did not plead guilty and insisted he had arrived in Belarus on business.

Alan Smith is serving his punishment in the correctional colony No 3 in the settlement of Vicba near Viciebsk. Novy Chas newspaper reports that Alan Smith's demands are yet to be known. His wife Magdalena has learned about the hunger strikes from the relatives of other prisoners. She says that Smith was not allowed to write letters (she received the last letter in February), is deprived of diet food and gym exercises. He was denied parole.