Jailed musician and activist Igor Bancer (Ihar Bantsar) is on dry hunger strike. Igor is refusing to drink water or eat. Today is his ninth day. The authorities continue to keep Igor in jail and refuse to transfer him to a hospital.
Igor is preparing for his court hearing which is scheduled for March 12 (tomorrow) in the Lenin District Court in Grodno. He faces up to three years in prison and has already been in custody since the 20th of October 2020. The long standing antifascist activist and lead singer of the Belarusian Oi/punk band Mister X was arrested along with thousands of others during the protests in Minsk and across Belarus.
The prosecutors case is that Igor has allegedly demonstrated his genitals to a police officer during a short dance in front of police car. Igor's position: it was a dance performance, during which he did take off his shorts, but was wearing underwear. He also was wearing a waist bag. The police officer, who saw Igor's dance, has no complaints against Igor. In his testimony he noted that initially he regarded Igor's act as a drunken prank, not a criminal offense.
Last year Igor Bancer was detained three times for participating in protests, he spent 18 days in jail for administrative cases. He is 41 years old, married with three small children. The family conveys their support to Igor through a lawyer, thought they are no longer trying to dissuade him. "It's impossible, because he is resolute," Igor's wife has told RFERL.
Igor remains in jail and has not been transferred to a hospital. He is being monitored, his blood pressure is being measured in jail. On average, a man's body requires 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids intake per day, according to The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Potential consequences of untreated dehydration include seizures, severe kidney and other organ failures. According to one study, most elderly persons (85%) - who have voluntarily chosen to hasten death by refusing food and fluids - died within 15 days. In general, another study suggests, survival time at dry hunger strikes may vary from 8 to 21 days. ■
RFERL (translated by Denis Kazakiewicz, edited by Organise!)
If Igor survives, the address to write letters:
Bancer Igor Romanovichul. Kirova 1, Turma-1, Grodno 230023 Belarus
Игорь Банцер, Кирова 1, Гродно, 230023 Belarus.
(Subject to change double check with Belarus ABC)
Original report [in Belarusian] on Svoaboda
Studies of survival time of dry hunger strikes:
https://medscape.com/viewarticle/459099
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20069776/
This is not about Brian Thompson.It's not about “The Adjuster”.It's about you.It's about me. I want to know if you've watched as an elder is tossed into the crisp winter, as a landlord shrugs and the bailiffs excuse themselves, “just doing my job, mate”. The two cops at least have the decency to help him […]
The following is the opening Editorial of "Muntjac Magazine" which launches today. Muntjac is a collective of 4th[1] world Anarchists who are aiming to release the Magazine three/four times a year. The first edition (Near 80 pages split across two zines of it!) is now avalible to download for free here muntjacmag.noblogs.org/mag/ and we physical […]
A good press release could be an excellent tool to promote your campaigns and activities and serve an important role in the efforts to include anti-authoritarian left ideas in the political debates, bringing your politics out there to the general public. But, to achieve that, you need to get it right, and from experience, this […]
Sidiq is an anarchist, illegalist and an individualist. On the 12th of July 2024, state authorities had arrested him for cannabis use and possession. He often contributes to anarchist publishing and street libraries, involvement in soccer hooligan club, clashes in protests and a passion for writing poetry. Sidiq is looking at a possible 10 year […]
More than five years ago SDF brought the caliphate of ISIS to an end. Now, with the new offensive of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, we risk a rebirth of their atrocities. HTS has united many jihadist groups with ex-fighters of the caliphate in their ranks. Recently they started a big offensive, breaking through the seige of […]
At 1 PM on August 2, 2024, a fairly large, angry crowd in black uniforms belonging to an ultraconservative organization known as the Old Dominican Order (Antigua Orden Dominicana, AOD) marched in the capital of the Dominican Republic. Having instigated outrage by claiming that Haitian immigrants are "occupying" the country's schools (despite official numbers stating […]