The trial of an expert who failed to fingerprint a terrorist suspect will begin on September 26 in Vitebsk

September 19, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The trial in the case of an expert who failed to conduct fingerprinting of one of the defendants in the explosion in the Minsk metro will begin on September 26 in the Vitebsk Regional Court, the chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Court, Nikolai Khamichenok, told a BELTA correspondent.

The Investigative Department of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office conducted an investigation into a criminal case accusing an employee of the internal affairs bodies of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Department of Internal Affairs of committing a crime under Article 428 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus "Negligence". This case is directly related to the case initiated by the Prosecutor General's Office under Article 289 "Terrorism" of the Criminal Code of Belarus.

During the preliminary investigation, it was established that on January 20, 2009, at the city military commissariat, an expert of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Department of Internal Affairs did not take measures to conduct fingerprinting of a conscript who was subject to mandatory state fingerprinting as a person liable for military service. Believing the young man's word, the expert submitted a certificate to the conscript's personal file stating that he had previously undergone fingerprinting and there was no need to repeat it. At the same time, the law enforcement officer did not verify the truthfulness of the conscript's statement. Thus, the expert exempted him from fingerprinting, information about him was not included in the fingerprint database, the young man was not checked for involvement in the explosion in Minsk on July 4, 2008, which allowed him to subsequently commit a crime at the metro station in Minsk.

Currently, a trial is underway in Minsk for the terrorist attack that occurred on April 11 in the capital's metro. On the dock are two natives of Vitebsk, Dmitry Konovalov and Vladislav Kovalev, both born in 1986.

Konovalov is accused of more than 30 counts under Part 1 of Article 289, Part 2 of Article 289, Part 3 of Article 289, Part 2 of Article 295, Part 3 of Article 295, Part 2 of Article 339, Part 3 of Article 339, Part 2 of Article 218, Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 3 of Article 339, Part 1 of Article 14 and Part 2 of Article 218 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus: commission of terrorism, including that resulting in human casualties, causing bodily harm of varying degrees of severity, other grave consequences, illegal actions with explosives and explosive devices, malicious and especially malicious hooliganism, intentional destruction and damage to property by generally dangerous means.

Kovalev is charged with participation in 15 counts under Part 6 of Article 16 and Part 3 of Article 289, Part 3 of Article 295, Part 3 of Article 339, Part 2 of Article 339, Part 2 of Article 218, Part 2 of Article 405, Part 2 of Article 406, Part 1 of Article 406 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus: complicity in the form of aiding and abetting and commission of terrorism, commission of malicious and especially malicious hooliganism, intentional destruction of property by generally dangerous means, illegal actions with explosives. He is also accused of harboring a person who committed a particularly grave crime, as well as of failure to report particularly grave crimes committed and being prepared.

The maximum penalty provided for by the most serious of the articles presented to Konovalov and Kovalev, Article 289 "Terrorism", is the death penalty.

The most high-profile episode of the case is the explosion on April 11 at the "Oktyabrskaya" metro station, which claimed the lives of 15 people, 11 of whom died on the spot. Hundreds of people also suffered various injuries and moral suffering. Due to the terrorist attack, the normal operation of the metro was disrupted for several days. The material damage caused to the metro amounted to more than Br2 billion, and to the victims - at least Br175 million.-0-