Belarusian prisoner tries to cut own throat in court hearing

A still image taken from video footage shows Belarusian prisoner Stepan Latypov, who was arrested during a security crackdown on mass protests following a contested presidential election in 2020, being carried out of a court building after a suicide attempt in Minsk, Belarus June 1, 2021. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)/Handout via REUTERS TV

(Reuters) - A Belarusian prisoner detained in a crackdown on protests tried to cut his own throat during a court hearing on Tuesday after being told his family and neighbours faced prosecution if he did not plead guilty, media, activists and a witness said.

Footage by RFE/RL showed 41-year-old Stepan Latypov lying on a wooden bench inside a prisoner's cage in the courtroom in the capital Minsk, with police officers standing over him and onlookers screaming.