In Brest, judges sentenced Gennady Shutov, who was fatally wounded in the head during the protests on August 11, 2020, and his friend Alexander Kordyukov. Interfax reports.
The deceased protester was sentenced to 10 years in prison, his friend was sentenced without punishment. Kordyukov pleaded not guilty. The verdict has not entered into legal force and may be appealed.
Shutov and Kordyukov were accused of resisting officers of the internal affairs bodies under Part 2 of Article 363 of the Criminal Code of Belarus. The victims in the case were servicemen Roman Gavrilov and Arseniy Golitsin, after a clash with whom the protester died.
Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus reported about the incident that “in Brest, a group of aggressive citizens with fittings in their hands attacked police officers.” The warning shots of law enforcement officers in the air did not stop them, and the policemen used weapons to kill “to protect life and health.
Shutov’s relatives said they had found and interviewed witnesses to the incident. They said that the man just walked down the street and did not participate in the protests, and the bullet may have been fired from the roof. The victim was wounded in the head, underwent several operations, he was taken by helicopter to Minsk.
However, the Investigative Committee of Belarus considered Shutov’s fatal wound unintentional.