Lawyer Of Political Prisoner Mykola Dedka Told About Torture

• 8.06.2025, 14:25

Lukaszysts beat an activist to get the passwords to the hard drive.

Political anarchist prisoner Nikolai Dedka, sentenced to five years in prison, was severely beaten during detentions in both 2017 and 2020. The man was sprayed in the face with tear gas and put a pillow on his head. This was told in an interview with "Radiyo Svaboda" by the lawyer of political prisoner Natalya Matskevich.

Matskevich met Nikolai Dedk in the hospital, where he was lying with a head injury - the latter appeared after his detention on the way to the march on the Day of Will on March 25, 2017.

"So it was a pretty predictable situation for me when 'law enforcement' beat Nikolai wherever they saw him. In 2017, he was not even admitted to the temporary detention center, but was sent to the emergency hospital after being detained," Matskevich said.

In November 2020, the lawyer began to be sent footage of a video showing Nikolai Dedok being beaten. According to Matskevich, knowledgeable people realized that he was not just beaten and that tear gas had been used.

"What I saw the next day in the TDF, I would not wish anyone to see. Nikolai Dedok was not broken, but he was really broken, beaten. He was not bleeding, but his hands and face were covered with marks from beatings. He hadn't even expected to be treated so brutally himself. It was a whole night of beatings and threats. Then he talked about it in court. He said to me, "Do something to make sure it doesn't happen again." As far as I know, it didn't happen again at that time - I hope it doesn't happen now either," the lawyer said.

The defense showed the investigator the defendant's bruises. They were all over his legs, all over his buttocks, all over his back.

"I have seen a lot of things, but I would never want to see such a thing again. I immediately wrote a petition for an expert examination. Although the expertise was conducted some week later, there is a photo of his bruises with a description, size and conclusion that they could not have been formed by a fall. This expertise is also in his criminal case, but there should have been a separate check on the fact of abuse of authority. There was a check, but it, as always, led to nothing, as well as all allegations of torture at that time," said the lawyer.

Matskievich said that Nikolai Dedok was beaten to get the passwords to the hard disk. When he was arrested, they put a pillow over his head, sprayed tear gas in his face and locked him in a back room where the gas was sprayed, beat him with his hands and feet.

"Then he was beaten in the building of the Main Department of the police department until the morning, handcuffed and threatened," said Natalia Matskevich.

We recall that the anarchist was detained on November 11, 2020, severely beaten and tortured - Dedok told about it at the trial. The results of the forensic medical examination of the accused, which was held on November 17 and 24, recorded injuries: "bruises of the upper and lower eyelids, lumbar, shoulder joint, thighs, �...> 13 traumatic impacts with a hard blunt object, which is not characteristic of a fall."

Two weeks after his detention, human rights activists recognized Dedok as a political prisoner.

Nikolai Dedok was found "guilty" under three articles of the Criminal Code. At the trial the activist did not admit his guilt.

The Minsk City Court sentenced him to five years in a penal colony, while the Supreme Court left the verdict unchanged.

Dedka's punishment was later increased and he was transferred to a prison regime. All the time in custody he is under pressure. The activist was put on the list of those "involved in extremist activities".

In September 2024, a criminal case was opened against Dedka under Part 1 Article 411 of the Criminal Code (malicious disobedience of the colony administration). It is unclear whether there was a trial and what its results were.

It later became known that Nikolai Dedok was to be released from prison on April 25, 2025, but another criminal case was opened against him under Part 1 Article 411 of the Criminal Code (malicious disobedience to the prison administration).

Nikolai Dedok was a political prisoner 10 years ago.