Belarus KGB denies former presidential candidate's torture claims

MINSK (Itar-Tass) - The state security committee (KGB) of
Belarus has dismissed as untrue statements by oppositional ex-presidential
candidate Alexei Mikhalevich to the effect that at the KGB remand prison
he was subjected to torture and recruited as a secret agent.
As the public relations department of the Belarusian KGB said,
"Mikhalevich's claims regarding a confidential relationship with the
agencies of state security and 'torture' at the detention center are false
and the information being disseminated in connection with this is
defamatory." The KGB said that the decision to change the preventive
measure against Mikhalevich "was taken in coordination with the
prosecution authorities in accordance with Mikhalevich's acknowledgement
of his awareness of all responsibility for the committed illegal acts, as
well as his own petition in writing for clemency."
The official website of the KGB also published a fragment of a copy of
the ex-presidential candidate's petition, addressed to the Belarusian head
of state Alexander Lukashenko. In this letter, Mikhalevich, in particular,
wrote: "I always treated you with respect, and your contribution to the
independence of Belarus is undeniable and very large. During my election
campaign I said nothing bad either about you or your relatives and
friends. I am asking you to put the issue of my fate under your personal
control."
Mikhalevich, was arrested in the small hours of December 20 last year
as part of a criminal investigation of the riots that took place in Minsk
after the voting in the presidential election. On February 19 he was
released from the KGB detention center on his own recognizance. A few days
later Mikhalevich held a press conference to announce that he had received
freedom in exchange for signing an agreement of cooperation with the KGB.
The ex-presidential candidate also said that in jail he and other
prisoners were subject to brutal torture.