Man re-sentenced to death after retrial in Sluck
In the court of the Sluck district. January 15, 2021
At a court hearing held today in the city of Sluck, the Minsk Regional Court handed down a death verdict to Viktar Skrundzik on charges of killing two elderly persons and attempting to murder an 85-year-old woman in January 2019. Three other defendants in the trial were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.
The trial was held after the Supreme Court overturned on June 30, 2029 the initial death sentence handed down to Viktar Skrundzik in March 2020. The criminal case was sent to the Minsk Regional Court for retrial. The trial began on September 7, but after October 12, when Skrundzik’s last statement was to be heard in court, the hearing was postponed several times due to COVID-19.
At the opening session of the retrial on September 29, the prosecutor requested the same sentences that were handed down before the Supreme Court overturned the verdict: execution for Viktar Skrundzik, and 12 months to 22 years in prison for the rest of the defendants, Valiantsin Bushnin, Vital Miatsezh, and Siarhei Zakharchanka.
