Belarusian Resident Reports Son Died in Hospital After Arrest

A 25-year-old Alexander Vikhoreh has died in a hospital in Gomel, Belarus, after being arrested on August 9 while heading to see his girlfriend. This was reported by Alexander’s mother to Radio Free Europe, as relayed by the Czech-based Настоящее Время television channel.

“Sasha was in one of the police cars. He was not participating in the protest. He went to see his girlfriend on Sunday. He was caught somewhere in the center when she was changing her transport. He sent me a message that he had been caught, and that was it. I was looking for him these days. They were not giving me any information. Today, they finally told me that Sasha is in the morgue,” the young man's mother tearfully recounted.

According to her, the boy had heart problems. She mentioned that Alexander felt unwell after being confined for a long time in a isolation transport vehicle.

The young man asked for help, but law enforcement officers, believing he was intoxicated, took him to a psychiatric hospital where a doctor determined that the issue was not related to his mental state. The young man was then transferred to a nearby hospital by ambulance, but they were unable to save him. His mother was informed that he was brought to the hospital in clinical death.

Authorities refused to allow the mother to see her son’s body. The woman suspects that he had been subjected to brutal beating.