Belarusian activist stabs himself with pen while in court

Police officers and paramedics carry Stsiapan Latypau, a Belarusian activist who stabbed himself with a pen during a court hearing to protest political repression, into an ambulance in Minsk, Belarus. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via AP)

A Belarusian activist has stabbed himself in the neck during a court hearing in Minsk to protest political repression and authorities’ threats to prosecute his relatives.

Stsiapan Latypau used a pen to inflict the wound while he was sitting in court in a defendant’s cage on Tuesday, according to the Viasna human rights centre in Belarus.