Footage showed Stepan Latypov, 41, lying on a wooden bench inside a prisoner's cage in the courtroom, with police officers standing over him and onlookers screaming. Viasna, an independent rights group monitoring the trial of Stepan Latypov, said it believed the activist had tried to commit suicide following pressure in detention. Local reports have suggested Latypov took 'an object, maybe a pen' from a folder with some documents before stabbing himself. Stepan Latypov told the court authorities had threatened to bring criminal charges against his family and friends unless he confessed to 'opposition activity', before attempting to stab himself in the throat with a pen in court on TuesdayBelarusian political prisoner Stepan Latypov just stabbed himself in the throat with a pen in the middle of his hearing. Security forces cracked down hard on the protests, detaining and imprisoning thousands of demonstrators and pushing opposition leaders into exile.

Source: Daily Mail June 01, 2021 13:43 UTC