An Afghan veteran sentenced to 1.5 years of home confinement

On December 22, the Salihorsk District Court found the political prisoner Uladzimir Dalmatovich guilty of desecrating the state flag. 53-year-old Uladzimir Dalmatovich was charged with Art. 370 of the Criminal Code (Desecration of state symbols).

The accused is an Afghan veteran, a member of a veterans’ organization who has government awards. He lives with his wife and helps raising his grandson.

According to the accusation, on November 8, 2021 in Salihorsk, Uladzimir “showed deliberate and obvious disrespect for the state flag of Belarus, having sprayed engine oil on it and thus damaging it”. The prosecution qualified the actions of Uladzimir Dalmatovich as an abuse of the state flag.

The day after the crime was committed, police came to Uladzimir’s home, he was detained and taken into custody. Human rights activists recognized Uladzimir Dalmatovich as a political prisoner.

At the trial, Uladzimir Dalmatovich fully admitted his guilt and repented of what he had done. The wife of the accused bought a new state flag and paint for the repair of the columns of the building where the flag was hanging.

On December 22, judge of the Salihorsk District Court Valer Raby found Uladzimir Dalmatovich guilty of committing a crime under Art. 370 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (Defamation of state symbols) and sentenced him to one and a half years of home confinement.