BelTA's Deputy Director General for Ideology Sentenced to Five Years in Prison
- 19.04.2022, 11:29
The ideologist was accused of "leaking" to the telegram channel Nick and Mike.
The former deputy director general of BelTA for ideological work Siarhei Aderikho was sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power (part 2 article 426 of the Criminal Code). The verdict was passed by the Savetski district court on January 10th. The Human Rights Center Viasna shares the details of the case.
Who is Siarhei Aderikho
Siarhei Aderikho was deputy director general of BelTA for ideological work. He had 21 employees under his command. He used to work in Lukashenka's administration and even received awards from him. For instance, on 10 January 2020 Aderikho was awarded by Lukashenka for "high professionalism and significant personal contribution to the development of the state information policy".
The precise date of the official's detention is unknown. But it is known that on September 8, 2021 the representatives of the power structures drew up a report saying that "in the course of operative investigative measures, they received information that Aderikho, a current employee of BelTA, may have been providing the Nick and Mike Telegam Channel with classified information about the schedule of Aliaksandr Lukashenka".
The official was soon detained. The case was handled by officers of the State Security Committee. Aderikho was kept in custody until the trial.
How did the case end?
The trial was public. On January 10th, judge Aliaksandr Volk found Siarhei Aderikho guilty under part 2, Article 426 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to five years of imprisonment in a regular penal colony with a fine of 500 basic units (16,000 rubles). In addition, he was deprived of the right to hold positions of administrative and managerial responsibility for five years. The court lifted the arrest on his two appartments, but his Renault car remained in custody as security for the execution of the sentence to pay the fine.
Aderikho appealed the verdict in the Minsk city court on 15 March. He considered the verdict "illegal and unreasonable" and the appointed punishment "obviously unjust because of its severity". But the complaint of the former official was left without satisfaction and the verdict was not changed. Aderikho was supposed to be transferred to a penal colony, but the human rights activists still don't know which one.