Bandarenka was brutally beaten in Minsk, but investigators say he had alcohol poisoning in addition to injuries. However, information about the presence of alcohol in the blood is denied by emergency doctors and a report on Bandarenko’s condition at admission, informs the Tut.by server. It says he had zero per mille in his blood.
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According to the Tut.by portal, the 31-year-old painter Bandarenka was brutally attacked in Minsk near his residence by unknown masked men who came to tear off red and white streamers on a fence in the colors of a flag symbolizing anti-regime protests. Bandarenka just walked out of the house to find out what was going on. He was later taken to hospital, where he was operated on for several hours. He was unconscious the whole time.
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The investigation committee on the Telegram social network said that the police officers went to the scene because they received a report that there was a fight. They then found men with injuries and signs of intoxication on the spot. The men were then taken to a maid service to clarify the matter. When the man’s condition began to deteriorate, they called an ambulance. In addition to injuries, alcohol intoxication was allegedly found in the man and the exact cause of death is being investigated.
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A place of reverence commemorating activist Raman Bandarenka.
Photo: Belapan, Reuters
Thousands of people took to the streets in response to Bandarenko’s death, according to AFP. The European Union condemned his death on Friday, according to the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell, “it is the result of scandalous and shameful actions by the Belarusian authorities.” Borrell’s spokesman also said the European Union was ready for further sanctions. The EU has previously adopted sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his son and 53 other people around them.
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Blocked support for the prosecuted and injured
The Belarusian authorities also froze money sent from the BY-help fund account. The letter to the banks states that the founder of the Leonchik fund, together with the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsukhunovskaya, is raising money “to support actions in Belarus” aimed at overthrowing the government.
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Leonchik said that some people to whom the money was sent found that their bills were overdrawn, so that their money was not only frozen, but even confiscated. Some have been blocked from accessing their account. Banks thus retained an amount of about 1.2 million Belarusian rubles (12.2 million crowns). But some people got help because they went from another account.
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Leonchik set up a support fund in August, when protests after the presidential election, which are considered rigged, were violently suppressed. Lukashenko won 80 percent of the vote. In a few days, Leonchik managed to raise two million pounds (59 million crowns) from donors, mostly from Belarusian citizens. The money raised was sent to people who were to pay fines for participating in the protests. Larger sums then went to help the injured during police interventions.
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At the beginning of the week, the fund registered over 8,700 applications for support, paying money to more than 3,300 people.
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Protest after the death of activist Raman Bandarenka.
Photo: Belapan, Reuters
Leonchik emphasized that he had nothing to do with Cichaunska and that it was purely humanitarian aid. That is why his fund is separate from another Belarus Solidarity endowment fund, which sends money to striking miners or helps them go into exile. “It was a deliberate decision, they represent a solidarity movement, we are a humanitarian movement,” Leonchik said.
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Since the beginning of the protests in August, 20,000 people have been detained, some of whom have been charged and some have been convicted.
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