Belarusian protest artist dies in prison under unclear circumstances The Acropolis is in danger – now Greece wants to act

Belarusian artist and regime critic Ales Pushkin has died in prison under unclear circumstances. Pushkin’s wife on Facebook and the Belarusian human rights organization “Vyazna” announced this on Tuesday. Accordingly, the 57-year-old artist died in the detention center in the Belarusian city of Grodno. There had been previous attempts to revive him.

Pushkin has been denouncing the violence of the government of Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko for some 20 years with spectacular art actions. According to the independent internet portal Mediazona, in 1999 he dumped a cart full of manure in front of Lukashenko’s official residence. For this he received a suspended prison sentence of two years.

Pushkin was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to five years in camp in 2022. The charge in the closed trial was abuse of state symbols and incitement to hatred. According to Vyazna, Pushkin caused a stir when the verdict was announced when he undressed and showed cuts in the shape of a cross on his stomach. He did this to himself while on remand.

According to human rights activists, Pushkin spent several months in a camp after the verdict and was transferred to solitary confinement before being transferred to Grodno prison in late 2022.

In his native village, Pushkin also portrayed Lukashenko for God’s judgment in a church, culture broadcaster 3sat reported in a documentary about the protest movement in Belarus. The artist’s protests can be seen on Pushkin’s Instagram channel. (sda/dpa)