Dmitry Shletgauer. Photo: social media

A 22-year-old Russian citizen who died in a Belarusian penal colony in early October suffocated to death, independent Belarusian news outlet Zerkalo reported on Wednesday.

Dmitry Shletgauer, whose death was reported last week by Belarusian human rights organisation Viasna, was sentenced to 12 years in prison earlier this year after being convicted of espionage and aiding extremist activity.

Shletgauer’s trial was held behind closed doors, according to Viasna, which also said that details of the charges against him were never made publicly available.

A friend of Shletgauer’s family told Zerkalo that the cause of Shletgauer’s death was listed on his death certificate as mechanical asphyxia, the medical term for breathing being impeded by an object or physical force, which the outlet noted was a term frequently used in cases of suicide. However, the friend also said that Shletgauer’s family didn’t believe he was suicidal.

“While Dima was in the pretrial detention centre, his son was born, and he was very worried about what would happen to him in his absence. … But he did not plan to commit suicide. On the contrary, he was going to request a pardon and hoped to be released as soon as possible to see his son and wife,” said the family friend.

The friend said that Shletgauer was transferred in early October from the Brest pretrial detention centre in southwest Belarus to the Mogilev penal colony in the east of the country, where he was immediately sent to a punishment cell.

Shletgauer, who was born in Russia’s southern Altai region, received a Belarusian residence permit in 2018, according to independent outlet Mediazona Belarus.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko launched a brutal crackdown on his political opponents following the widespread protests against his decades-long rule that shook the country after he claimed victory in the disputed 2020 presidential election.

There are an estimated 1,287 political prisoners in Belarus, according to Viasna. In September, in a rare act of clemency, Lukashenko signed a decree pardoning 37 political prisoners, though the fates of dozens more remain unknown.