Prisoners on hunger strike for 30 days in Belarus jail

Prisoners have been on a hunger strike for 30 days in the Žodzina correctional faclity No 8, protesting against unbearable conditions. Their relatives are going to write a complaint to President Lukashenka.

According to Platforma, an NGO that helps to protect the rights of prisoners, the prison's administration ignores the demands of inmates and does not solve the problems raised.

"As we have learned, the administration of the Žodzina prison has paid attention so far only to the emergency medical care to the inmates suffering from chronic deseases," Platforms reports.  The prison officials claim they are unable to resolve the problems on their own because significant financial assistance is required. The prison does not have enough money resources at the moment."

Rights defenders point to the fact that they are yet to receive an official reply to their complaints from the Interior's Department of Corrrections. But "if relatives [of prisoners] eventually manage to get to the Office of the President earlier than the Department of Corrections, some people from the Department will probably have to go on a hunger strike themselves - even in the same prison," Platforma said sarcastically in a statement.