Belarus Opposition Activist Stabs Himself in Court Hearing

A Belarusian opposition activist stabbed himself in the throat with a pen during a court hearing in Minsk on Tuesday to protest what he claimed were threats from authorities to arrest his family members and friends if he did not plead guilty to organizing protests against the country's authoritarian ruler, President Alexander Lukashenko.

Footage from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty showed Stsiapan Latypau lying limp on a bench in the defendant’s cage after his self-inflicted wounding as guards tended to him. The video showed him being carried unconscious from the courthouse on a stretcher, his neck wrapped in a white cloth, and put into an ambulance. The Viasna human rights center in Belarus said Latypau was put into an induced coma. His lawyer declined to comment on his condition.