Inevitability of Punishment
Not long ago, the court of the Braslav District issued a verdict regarding G., born in 1950, who was accused of committing a particularly serious crime as defined by part 3 of article 147 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (intentional infliction of serious bodily harm, that is, harm dangerous to life, committed repeatedly by a person who has previously committed murder).
G. was accused by the prosecuting authority of having, on one of the days in November 2016, while in a state of alcohol intoxication, on the grounds of personal animosity arising during a quarrel, with the intent to inflict serious bodily harm, intentionally inflicted at least 4 knife wounds on the victim, Sh., who lived in the same village in the Braslav District, one of which was penetrating, thereby causing bodily harm to the victim that falls into the category of serious due to its danger to life.
During the court hearings, the accused G. did not admit guilt for the committed crime, constantly changed his testimony, repeatedly put forward new versions of the incident, and made unfounded motions, trying to confuse and mislead the court. However, during the judicial investigation, G.'s guilt in the incriminated act was fully confirmed. The testimonies of the victim, numerous witnesses for the prosecution, expert conclusions, and other written materials of the criminal case reliably allowed for the reconstruction of the events that occurred in one of the villages of the Braslav District in November 2016. The testimony of the accused G. was reasonably deemed unreliable by the court.
By the verdict of the Braslav District Court, G. was found guilty of committing a crime as defined by part 3 of article 147 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, and he was sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment to be served in a correctional colony under special conditions.
The accused G. and his defender disagreed with the verdict, considering the guilt of the accused unproven, and therefore appealed this decision in the appellate procedure to the Vitebsk Regional Court.
The state prosecutor also disagreed with the verdict, considering the sentence imposed on G. excessively lenient, and also protested the verdict of the Braslav District Court on these grounds in the regional court.
According to the state prosecutor, the court, when imposing the sentence, did not fully take into account that G. had previously been convicted multiple times for committing serious and particularly serious crimes, including for committing crimes such as intentional murder under aggravating circumstances, infliction of serious bodily harm, robbery, and many others, in total G. spent more than 30 years in places of deprivation of liberty. In addition, the actions of the accused, in accordance with part 3 of article 43 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, involved particularly dangerous recidivism of crimes.
By the ruling of the judicial panel on criminal cases of the Vitebsk Regional Court, the appeal of the state prosecutor was granted, the verdict of the Braslav District Court was amended, and the sentence for G. was increased to 14 years of imprisonment. The complaints of the accused and the defender were deemed unfounded and left without satisfaction.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor of the District
S.P. Harbus