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An Israeli man who arrived with his wife and children for a family visit in Belarus was arrested by the authorities and subjected to severe physical and psychological abuse. During his detention, he was starved and tortured with electric shocks, his family said on Tuesday.
He was released from custody only when he was on the verge of physical collapse. At the request of the family, the man’s identity was not revealed. According to his family, he was arrested by Belarusian authorities in early February for allegedly “subscribing to extremist content.”
The man was a member of a Facebook group where Israelis and locals engaged in discussions. The family claims that the real reason for his arrest was his son’s participation in a protest against the Belarus regime, which was held in Israel. Following the protest, the son received personal threats to his life and the lives of his family members, including being told “you will be sent to Auschwitz.”
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The family also claimed that following the arrest, all contact with him was severed. He was sent to 15 days of detention in a prison facility, where he endured physical and psychological abuse. The Belarusian authorities confiscated his passport and documents. Upon his release, the Israeli embassy issued a temporary passport for him that would be valid for one year, so that he would be able to return to Israel
“I asked the embassy for help for my father, but my requests were ignored, his son said. "This is a shocking story that should be exposed in the media. When I turned to the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy, they were evasive and no one intervened to protect my father,” the son said.
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President Lukashenko has been accused of persecution in the past
(Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP)
“Now that my father has returned to Israel, he is in poor health—very thin, weak, and his hair has turned white from the nightmare he endured. How is it possible that the State of Israel remains silent in the face of such a case? How can they ignore an Israeli citizen who suffered horrific abuse in a foreign country? I am begging for help—do not abandon Israeli citizens in their darkest moments.”
The Foreign Ministry said the man holds dual Israeli and Belarusian citizenship. "The Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy in Belarus are accompanying the family and providing them with consular assistance. They also helped the detainee’s son in every possible way, including issuing an Israeli emergency passport and offering free assistance due to the unique circumstances of this case,” they said.