Former Deputy Head Of Minsk Damaratski Sentenced To 12 Years In Jail

The sentence was made for a bribe of $ 3.5 thousand.

Today, the court of the Central district of Minsk announced the verdict in the case of former Deputy Head of Minsk Andrei Damaratski, writes tut.by. The defendant plead innocent during the trial: “You can even shoot me, I did not take bribes”. In the debate of the parties, his lawyer Dzmitry Harachka stated that “he was shocked by the accusation and the punishment requested by the representative of the state prosecution”.

For more than two months, the court of the Central district of Minsk considered a criminal case against ex-official Andrei Damaratski. He was charged under Part 3 of Article 430 (taking a bribe in especially large amount), Part 3 of Article 424 (Abuse of power or official authority), Part 1 of Article 210 (embezzlement through abuse of official authority) of the Criminal Code. Already during the trial, the prosecutor declared that he had abolished part of the charge, and excluded damage to the city for BYN 3 mln. The state prosecutor requested 13 years in prison for the accused.

Today the court of the Central district of Minsk announced the verdict. Former Deputy Head of Minsk Andrei Damaratski was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in a reinforced-security penal facility with confiscation of property: an iPhone, a freezer, a dishwasher, a microwave oven, and money would be confiscated. Judge Tatsiana Akavitaya released the Kia car, a Playstation with two joysticks, from under arrest. Also, the accused must pay a fine of 3 thousand rubles. The court resolved to satisfy the civil suit of the prosecutor in the amount of BYN 5,122.

Andrei Damaratski was accused of three corruption crimes. According to the investigators, he received a bribe of 2.5 thousand dollars for helping him to resolve the issue of placing the Golden Coffee cafe in the Kirau Street in Minsk. Damaratski was not detained red-handed; businessman Vasil Sadouski testified against him, but during interrogation in court he refused his words. He said that the confession was written under the dictation of the investigator, because he wanted to return home from the KGB pre-trial detention center as soon as possible.

Another episode of the charges - Andrei Damaratski illegally received a one thousand dollars bonus for the artificially raised indicators of the work of the Main Directorate of Consumer Market. The bonus, by the way, was sanctioned by former mayor of Minsk Andrei Shorats.

Damaratski returned the bonus two months before his arrest, as soon as he saw that the figures did not agree. The accountant accepted the money, it is documented.

“If we jail the superiors under false accusations, there will be no one left, they are already lacking,” lawyer Dzmitry Harachka, who represents Damaratski’s interests, said in court earlier. “We are undermining people's faith in the personnel policy of the head of state. Why wasn’t Damaratski charged in 2015, if the Operative Analytical Center already then tapped the phone of Valadzko, had all the materials on hand? It is clear why. If such evidence was presented by Lukashenka, he would never agree to the detention (in 2015, Damaratski still held the position of Deputy Head of Minsk, according to the law, Lukashenka’s permission would be required for his detention, as the official was included in the personnel register of the head of state - edit.)

In his last word, Andrei Damaratski asked for a fair and honest sentence:

- This is the first time something like this happened to me, for the 20 years of my work. Despite what happened during the preliminary investigation, I believe that legality and law triumph in our country. I did not commit any crimes.

The verdict has not entered into legal force and can be appealed.