Valery Yudzin

Affiliated media: Freelance photographer

Incident date: April 22, 2021

Attack type:

• Non-fatal attack / beating / injury / torture

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Naviny.by

Location: Belarus, Hrodna

Additional information:

The Oktyabrsky District Court of Hrodna fined freelance photographer Valery Yudzin 15 base amounts for the white-red-white flag on the windscreen of his car. The photographer was stopped by traffic police officers in an unmarked car on the morning of April 22 when he was going to work. They said that his car was allegedly wanted and took him to the police together with the car. They drew up a report on him for illegal picketing. One flag and two smartphones were seized during the inspection of his flat. Yudzin was kept in the detention centre for more than a day and then released until the trial. According to the photographer, the Hrodna detention centre created special conditions for «political» prisoners. They were not allowed to sit on the bunks from 6 AM to 10 PM, and they were not given mattresses and underwear for the night. The prisoners sleep on beds made of metal plates and are woken up twice or thrice a night for a roll call.