‘Terrorist’ from Mazyr sentenced to eight years in a medium-security penal colony

The Hrodna Regional Court pronounced a verdict against Yauhen Zbarouski, who was put on the ‘list of terrorists’ at the end of June 2022.

Judge Ihar Sobaleu considered the case.

The criminal case of 28-year-old Zbarouski is not quite common. He was charged under nine articles of the Criminal Code, and the trial itself lasted from February 14 to June 2, for almost four months.

According to the case records, last August Yauhen Zbarouski sent messages on Telegram about methods of manufacturing flammable substances, incendiary grenades, setting objects for destruction and damage, created conditions for organizing mass riots, accompanied by arson and destruction of property (Part 1 of Article 13 and Part 1 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code).

Then, from September 2020 until August 2021 he was posting materials with insults (Part 1 Article 368 of the Criminal Code) and slander (Part 2 Article 367 of the Criminal Code) against Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

In October 2021, he left comments on Telegram channels aimed at inciting hatred against law enforcers ( Part 1 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code).

In November 2020 and June 2021, he transferred 0.28 and 0.004 bitcoins to Telegram channel administrators to provide extremist activities ( Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 361-2 of the Criminal Code).

In November 2021, he posted messages of an insulting nature under a publication with a photo image of the police officer (Article 369 of the Criminal Code).

Between December 2019 and January 2020, he purchased extremely hazardous psychotropic substances ( Part 1, Article 328) and he bought a Makarov pistol (PM) with at least 46 cartridges for it (Part 2 of Article 295 and Part 1 of Article 333-1 of the Criminal Code).

The accused Yauhen Zbarouski pleaded guilty partially and explained that he was driven by his disagreement with the results of the presidential elections of Belarus 2020.

In accordance with part 3 of article 72 of the Criminal Code, by partial compounding of the sentences imposed on him, the final verdict was eight years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.