Another drug case “breaks up” in court
A youth from Mazyr accused of distribution of drugs by the local police has been acquitted by the court. However, the guy has to hide in another town while KGB and the Office of Public Prosecutor are dealing with the “guardians of the order” who trumped up his case.
The leader of a break-dance group of Mazyr Theatre Mikalai Herasimau entered the army on July 19, 2006. The guy was sent to “Pechy” not far from Barysau. His mother Valyantsina Herasimava found out that his was accused of distribution of drugs three weeks later. However, captain Kazlou working in the local District Department of the Interior had tried to accuse him of participation in a fight that took place after the guy had left Mazyr.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “I asked him when the fight had taken place. He said it had been a week before. So I showed him the photo my son had sent me from “Pechy” and suggested he should take a look at it. He was surprised: “Is he really in the army?”
An investigator from Mazyr District Department of the Interior major Tsyaplou phoned her a week later and said that a criminal case had been started against her son. He was accused of distribution of drugs and there were two proved episodes of his crime. Mikalai was detained and delivered to Mazyr confinement cell several days later. According to his mother, the prosecutor of the District Office of the Public Prosecutor Hud quarreled with the interrogator Tsyaplou and investigator Pinchuk during the very first interrogation.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “My son witnessed a quarrel between Tsyaplou, Pinchuk and the prosecutor. The prosecutor asked them: “Why are you presenting me the same scenario over and over? Are you going to imprison all the youth?”
The proofs of Mikalai’s guilt were some audio records, “secret” witnesses and an number of other things. However, the lawyer Uladzimir Syardsuk found a lot of contradictions in Mikalai Herasimau’s case. For example, there was something wrong with the expertise of the drugs Mikalai was said to have been distributing.
Uladzіmіr Syardzyuk: “The expertise showed that the substance presented as evidence contained no drugs. The investigators did not believe the local expertise for some reason and sent the substance to Minsk where they did find drugs. However, the weight of the substance sent from here differs from the weight of the one that was received from Minsk”.
A curious thing happened when the mother of the accused recognized an acquaintance of her son in the “secret” witness. It was a former jailer Syarhei Dzenisenka. Then he confessed that he had slandered Mikalai. It became known that he had also been caught distributing drugs among prisoners. He agreed to “give away” his accomplices in order to avoid imprisonment.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “He said the police had told him he had to obey their orders if he did not want to be imprisoned. So he had to represent a secret witness in courts”.
The mother turned to KGB according to the advice of the lawyer and her son’s request.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “They started investigating the case and it turned out that the investigator Pinchuk had forged documents. The witnesses who signed them worked as office-cleaners in the police. They were shown where to put their signatures and they did it without knowing anything. It turned out that many guys had been imprisoned because of such trumped-up cases before Kolya”.
Furthermore, it turned out that the audio records presented to the judge “had traces of changes and cutting”. The person who “bought” drugs from Mikalai Herasimau was a police “supergrass” and instigator. In spite of that, the prosecutor demanded 8 years of imprisonment.
However, the guy was released due to “the absence of components of crime”. But the policemen who trumped up his case are still working and Valyantsina Herasimava is afraid of their revenge. She has even sent her son away to her relatives’ in another town.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “We are afraid, and I asked him to leave before the New Year ’s Day. He went to our relatives’”.
According to the law, the Office of Public Prosecutor has to take its decision about the fact of violation of the law by employees of Mazyr District Department of the Interior. Moreover, the former jailer sent a letter to the Office of Public Prosecutor and confessed that several cases had been trumped up because of his false evidence. However, the person responsible for relations of Homel Region Office of Public Prosecutor with mass media Nadzeya Samuseva informed ERB that the verdict of "not guilty" did not prove that the case had been trumped up.
Nadzeya Samuseva: “There are cases when verdicts of "not guilty" are pronounced due to lack of evidence. Or due to absence of components of crime. But it does not mean that the case was trumped up”.
The mother of Mikalai Herasimau says her son would have been imprisoned if she had lost heart and stopped fighting for him. Just like the others who were slandered by Syarhei Dzenisenka. By the way, it is not clear whether the cases where he was “a secret witness” are going to be reconsidered or not. By the way, ERB described a similar incident in Hrodna last summer. An investigator of the department on prevention of distribution of drugs and psychoactive substances was punished for a wrong “experimental investigation”. The policeman was put on probation for 2 years.
The leader of a break-dance group of Mazyr Theatre Mikalai Herasimau entered the army on July 19, 2006. The guy was sent to “Pechy” not far from Barysau. His mother Valyantsina Herasimava found out that his was accused of distribution of drugs three weeks later. However, captain Kazlou working in the local District Department of the Interior had tried to accuse him of participation in a fight that took place after the guy had left Mazyr.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “I asked him when the fight had taken place. He said it had been a week before. So I showed him the photo my son had sent me from “Pechy” and suggested he should take a look at it. He was surprised: “Is he really in the army?”
An investigator from Mazyr District Department of the Interior major Tsyaplou phoned her a week later and said that a criminal case had been started against her son. He was accused of distribution of drugs and there were two proved episodes of his crime. Mikalai was detained and delivered to Mazyr confinement cell several days later. According to his mother, the prosecutor of the District Office of the Public Prosecutor Hud quarreled with the interrogator Tsyaplou and investigator Pinchuk during the very first interrogation.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “My son witnessed a quarrel between Tsyaplou, Pinchuk and the prosecutor. The prosecutor asked them: “Why are you presenting me the same scenario over and over? Are you going to imprison all the youth?”
The proofs of Mikalai’s guilt were some audio records, “secret” witnesses and an number of other things. However, the lawyer Uladzimir Syardsuk found a lot of contradictions in Mikalai Herasimau’s case. For example, there was something wrong with the expertise of the drugs Mikalai was said to have been distributing.
Uladzіmіr Syardzyuk: “The expertise showed that the substance presented as evidence contained no drugs. The investigators did not believe the local expertise for some reason and sent the substance to Minsk where they did find drugs. However, the weight of the substance sent from here differs from the weight of the one that was received from Minsk”.
A curious thing happened when the mother of the accused recognized an acquaintance of her son in the “secret” witness. It was a former jailer Syarhei Dzenisenka. Then he confessed that he had slandered Mikalai. It became known that he had also been caught distributing drugs among prisoners. He agreed to “give away” his accomplices in order to avoid imprisonment.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “He said the police had told him he had to obey their orders if he did not want to be imprisoned. So he had to represent a secret witness in courts”.
The mother turned to KGB according to the advice of the lawyer and her son’s request.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “They started investigating the case and it turned out that the investigator Pinchuk had forged documents. The witnesses who signed them worked as office-cleaners in the police. They were shown where to put their signatures and they did it without knowing anything. It turned out that many guys had been imprisoned because of such trumped-up cases before Kolya”.
Furthermore, it turned out that the audio records presented to the judge “had traces of changes and cutting”. The person who “bought” drugs from Mikalai Herasimau was a police “supergrass” and instigator. In spite of that, the prosecutor demanded 8 years of imprisonment.
However, the guy was released due to “the absence of components of crime”. But the policemen who trumped up his case are still working and Valyantsina Herasimava is afraid of their revenge. She has even sent her son away to her relatives’ in another town.
Valyantsіna Herasіmava: “We are afraid, and I asked him to leave before the New Year ’s Day. He went to our relatives’”.
According to the law, the Office of Public Prosecutor has to take its decision about the fact of violation of the law by employees of Mazyr District Department of the Interior. Moreover, the former jailer sent a letter to the Office of Public Prosecutor and confessed that several cases had been trumped up because of his false evidence. However, the person responsible for relations of Homel Region Office of Public Prosecutor with mass media Nadzeya Samuseva informed ERB that the verdict of "not guilty" did not prove that the case had been trumped up.
Nadzeya Samuseva: “There are cases when verdicts of "not guilty" are pronounced due to lack of evidence. Or due to absence of components of crime. But it does not mean that the case was trumped up”.
The mother of Mikalai Herasimau says her son would have been imprisoned if she had lost heart and stopped fighting for him. Just like the others who were slandered by Syarhei Dzenisenka. By the way, it is not clear whether the cases where he was “a secret witness” are going to be reconsidered or not. By the way, ERB described a similar incident in Hrodna last summer. An investigator of the department on prevention of distribution of drugs and psychoactive substances was punished for a wrong “experimental investigation”. The policeman was put on probation for 2 years.
