Political prisoner Yury Rubtsou on hunger strike
Activist Yury Rubtsou demands a job with a salary of $600, as promised by Lukashenka, and a daily broadcast on state television for the opposition.
On January 22, activist Yury Rubtsou, convicted in autumn 2014 for insulting the judge, went on a hunger strike.
As reported by BelaPAN, Rubtsou put two demands to the authorities. He demands a job with monthly earnings of $600. He recalls that it is the salary promised two years ago as the national average by Alyaksandr Lukashenka. It also demands that the opposition get a daily broadcast on state television.
Rubtsou became known for arriving at rallies wearing a t-shirt with opposition slogans, thus the nickname "Man in a t-shirt". In the autumn of 2014, Rubtsou was found guilty of insulting the judge of the Savietski district court of Minsk, Kiryl Palulekh, judging him after Charnobylski SHlyakh rally on April 28, 2014 in Minsk. At the trial, the accused Rubtsou blamed Belarusian judges for taking the decisions against social and political activists needed by the authorities.
On October 6, the 53-year-old Rubtsou was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment in an open type penal institution. Because of the amnesty, the sentence was reduced to year and a half.
Rubtsou is serving the sentence in the village Kuplin of Pruzhany district, Brest region. In such institutions, the prisoners are to be provided a regular job so that they could fend for themselves. However, Rubtsou has no permanent job yet.
Photos - svaboda.org
