Virus besets Belarus prisons filled with president's critics

In this handout photo, Belarusian riot police officers stand next to detained after an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results demonstrators inside a police station in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. More than 30,000 people have been detained for taking part in protests against the re-election of Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in the Aug. 9 presidential vote that was widely seen as rigged with fraud. The protests, some of which attracted up to 200,000 people, now have entered their fifth month. (Handout photo via AP)

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 file photo, police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (AP Photo/Misha Friedman, File)

FILE In this file pool photo taken on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, center, listens to medic official as he visits the hospital for coronavirus patients in Minsk, Belarus. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (Andrei Stasevich/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE In this file photo taken on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, A man wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus holds an old Belarusian national flag during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (AP Photo, File)

In this handout photo, Belarusian riot police officer stands next to detained after an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results demonstrators inside a police station in Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (Handout photo via AP)

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 10, 2020 file photo, police officers kick a demonstrator during a mass protest following presidential election in Minsk, Belarus. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (AP Photo, File)

ON HOLD TO GO WITH VIRUS OUTBREAK BELARUS PRISONS In this handout photo, Artsiom Liava poses for a selfie at his flat in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (Artyom Lyava via AP)

In this handout photo, Ihar Hotsin smiles as he poses for a selfie in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (Ihar Hotsin via AP)

FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds a picture of Belarusian opposition activist Nina Baginskaya as she gives a speech during the Sakharov Prize ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2020 file image made from video provided by the State TV and Radio Company of Belarus, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko greets riot police officers near the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Belarus. A wave of COVID-19 has spread through Belarusian jails packed with people imprisoned for taking part in four months of protests against the nation’s authoritarian president. Activists, who tested positive after being released, describe massively overcrowded cells and the lack of basic amenities, and some even allege that the authorities have deliberately spread contagion among political prisoners. (State TV and Radio Company of Belarus via AP, File)