7 years in prison for arson of doors in KGB building

The Court of Babruisk and Babruisk district has completed hearing a criminal case of over arson of the local KGB building.

Yauheny Vaskovich, Artsyom Prakapenka, and Pavel Syramolatau were found guilty. Each was given seven years in a medium security penal colony, Radio Svaboda reports.

Yauheny Vaskovich, Artsyom Prakapenka, and Pavel Syramolatau were found guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code: malicious hooliganism and intentional damage at an especially large scales.

The sentence did not differ much from what a prosecutor asked. Prosecutor Toustsik asked the court to give the guys from 7.5 to 8 years in a medium security penal colony. She insisted the guilt was fully proved during the preliminary investigation. The actions of the defendants could have led to destruction of the entire KGB building and damage could have been about 2 billion Belarusian rubles, she said.

Lawyers did not agree with the prosecution. They asked the court to take into consideration that defendants had given evidence under pressure. Besides, they did not intend to burn down the KGB building, as the prosecutor insisted, but only wanted to damage it.

Arguments of the prosecution reflected what could have happened, the lawyers said, while the real damage was 253,000 rubles, which were already paid.

A lawyer of Vaskovich turned the judge’s attention to the fact, that the defendants explained his action as a response to inadequate measures by the Belarusian law-enforcement agencies against the youth fighting for freedom and democracy.

The lawyers asked for a punishment without sending the defendants to prison.

Syramolatau and Prakapenka repented of their conduct and asked the court for softer punishment. Yauheny Vaskovich said he did not regret. He called himself a real Belarusian and added that his sacred duty was defending Belarusian national values. Vaskovich ended his short final word exclaiming “Long live Belarus!”

The lawyers said after the trial they would appeal against the verdict of the Babruisk Court in the Court of the Mahilou Region.