Nine employees of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office have been disciplined for violating the Code of Criminal Procedure

April 12, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus has brought nine employees of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office to disciplinary action for violating the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), the Prosecutor General's Office informed a BELTA correspondent. The reason for the punishment of prosecutors and investigators was the acquittal verdict of the judicial board for criminal cases of the Mogilev Regional Court of November 29, 2010, by which two young men, residents of Vitebsk, were acquitted due to insufficient evidence of their involvement in the intentional unlawful deprivation of life of another person (murder) committed by a group of persons with particular cruelty. The young men (high school students at the time) were taken into custody in the summer of 2009 based on the testimony of a minor who told district internal affairs officers that she had witnessed the murder and named the young men as participants in the crime. The investigation lasted for a long time, during which a large number of examinations were conducted, and dozens of people were interviewed as witnesses. However, apart from the girl's testimony, the young men's guilt was confirmed only by circumstantial evidence. An internal investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office established that during the investigation of this criminal case, operational officers of the internal affairs bodies, heads of the investigative group, and investigators included in it violated the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code regarding ensuring the rights of participants in the process, the procedure for conducting a number of investigative actions, and their proper documentation. To some extent, omissions and shortcomings in the case became possible due to insufficient control and supervision over the investigation by the management and other officials of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, and prosecutorial staff of the Prosecutor General's Office. At a meeting of the board of the Prosecutor General's Office, the issue of the reasons that led to the acquittal verdict in this criminal case was considered. Following its consideration, by order of the Prosecutor General, six prosecutors and investigators of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office were reprimanded, one employee of the regional prosecutor's office was warned of incomplete official compliance, one investigator was demoted in class rank for six months, and another prosecutor was given a reprimand. The criminal case on murder, received from the court, has been sent to the investigative department of the Prosecutor General's Office for the organization of an additional preliminary investigation. Currently, the Prosecutor General's Office is conducting an inspection of employees of the internal affairs bodies involved in the investigation of this criminal case. -0-