MZKT Chief Engineer Has Been In Jail For Almost Four Years

Last year, Andrei Halavach was found not guilty, but was detained again.

The media reported the story of the chief engineer of the Minsk wheeled tractor plant in July last year. At that time, Andrei Halavach had spent in the detention center three years. He was acquitted under part 3 of article 430, but was arrested in the courtroom, onliner.by writes.

The investigation charges Andrei Halavach under the same article, the 430th, but under a different episode. At that, on May 5, 2019, it will be four years since the man got to prison. The General Prosecutor’s Office has commented on this fact.

– I can answer that two criminal cases were the ground for the prosecution. In one criminal case, which had been considered by the court, an acquittal was pronounced, – the head of the public prosecution department of the Prosecutor General's Office, Eldar Safarau, says. – Now we are checking its legality and validity. The second criminal case is being investigated. The preventive measure does not contradict the charges.

Safarau has explained how long a person can be kept in a detention facility.

– The procedure and terms for applying a preventive measure in the form of detention are very clearly regulated by law, – he explained. – At the preliminary investigation stage, it is half a year. Further, at the trial stage, it can be further extended up to a year. This is the limit in the criminal case. If a person has committed two or more crimes that are detected not simoltaneously for objective reasons, not in criminal proceedings, which may well be, then the preventive measure for each criminal case is calculated autonomously.

The paradox of the situation is that even if now Andrei Halavach is found guilty, then those three years and nine months that he stayed in the detention center during the investigation and the trial will not be deducted from his second sentence.