A 22-year-old political prisoner who opposed Lukashenko died in Belarusian prison.

In Belarus, Dmitry Shletgauer, a Russian citizen imprisoned on charges of espionage and «assisting extremist activities», has died. This is already the seventh death of a prisoner since the beginning of Lukashenko's regime's repressions against the opposition in 2020. This was reported by the Belarusian human rights center «Viasna», citing AP.

According to «Viasna», the founder of this center, Ales Bialiatski, who is also in prison, the Belarusian authorities refused to name the cause of Shletgauer's death, which occurred on October 11, but only recently became known.

Human rights organizations report that there are currently about 1,300 political prisoners in the country, many of whom are denied necessary medical care and the opportunity to communicate with relatives.

According to «Viasna», Shletgauer became a father while in prison. He was a Russian citizen but had a residence permit in Belarus since 2018 and worked at a polymer plant before his arrest.

Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, whose husband Siarhei Tsikhanouski is in detention, called for an independent investigation into Shletgauer's death and stated that international experts should be allowed to visit Belarusian prisons.

Tension on the Border

Alexander Lukashenko claimed that the opposition and its «supervisors» plan to carry out a coup in Belarus by seizing the Kobryn district, creating a new government, and appealing to NATO for troop deployment. Earlier, Belarus and Russia announced joint military exercises «West-2025», which may affect Ukraine's security.

Ukrainian border guards do not rule out the possible movement of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. This was reported by the spokesperson for the State Border Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko. It is also known that Belarus has suspended the construction of a military town on the border with Ukraine.