{"id":12725,"date":"2021-01-25T15:22:53","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T15:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=154290"},"modified":"2021-01-25T15:22:53","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T15:22:53","slug":"jailed-belarusian-blogger-losik-ends-hunger-strike-after-almost-2-1-2-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/25\/jailed-belarusian-blogger-losik-ends-hunger-strike-after-almost-2-1-2-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Jailed Belarusian Blogger Losik Ends Hunger Strike After Almost 2 1\/2 Months"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ihar Losik, a popular Belarusian blogger, says he has ended a hunger strike he began more than two months ago to protest charges that he helped organize riots over a disputed presidential election that has triggered a wave of protests — and a harsh crackdown by the officials under Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the authoritarian leader who has held power since 1994.<\/p>\n
“I have decided to end my hunger strike. Why have I done so? I did it on my own volition…. I was simply moved by the unbelievable wave of solidarity,” he said in a statement via his lawyer on January 25.<\/p>\n
“Also, because of the hundreds and thousands of requests by Belarusians for me to end it, so that we can await our common victory in a healthy state. I also know that many have begun hunger strikes in solidarity with me. I cannot take on the weight of that responsibility. I don’t want people to suffer for my conscious decisions.”<\/p>\n
Losik was arrested on June 25 and accused of using his popular Telegram channel to “prepare to disrupt public order” ahead of an August 9 presidential election that Lukashenka claimed he won by a landslide amid allegations of widespread fraud.<\/p>\n
Since then, Belarus has witnessed nearly daily demonstrations whose size and scope are unparalleled in the country’s post-Soviet history.<\/p>\n
While awaiting his trial, the 28-year-old was sent to the Akrestsina detention center in Minsk, which Amnesty International has described as “synonymous with torture.”<\/p>\n
Former detainees have spoken of brutal beatings by guards at Akrestsina and other jails in Belarus. If convicted, Losik faces a possible three-year prison term.<\/p>\n
Then, on December 15, Losik, a consultant for RFE\/RL on new-media technologies, was slapped with fresh charges that could result in an eight-year prison term if he is convicted. In protest, Losik, who has been recognized as a political prisoner by rights activists, launched his hunger strike.<\/p>\n
On January 15, his wife, Darya Losik, told Current Time that her husband’s health was deteriorating and that medical attention was minimal.<\/p>\n
Losik’s statement on January 25 did not give details on his current health status.<\/p>\n
Western governments have refused to acknowledge Lukashenka as the winner of the vote, and imposed sanctions on him and his allies, citing election rigging and the police crackdown.<\/p>\n
Lukashenka has refused to step down and says he will not negotiate with the opposition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n