Criminal charges against Aliaksei Shchadrou get dropped

As it became known, the criminal case which had been initiated this year by the Shchuchyn District Police Department against philanthropist Aliaksei Shchadrou, was dropped in September. The appropriate ruling was issued on 11 September and received by Mr. Shchadrou on 24 September. According to the ruling, he is not currently threatened with punishment under Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code (activity on behalf of unregistered organization). The Christian believer now hopes that no one will interfere with his charitable activities since during the past few months he managed to register the private social institution "Believe in yourself" with the assistance of various human rights organizations.

The criminal case was dismissed with reference to paragraph 11 of Part 1 of Art. 29 CCP – a case must be dropped due to the existence of the reasons for the release from criminal responsibility under articles of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus. Note to 193-1 of the Criminal Code states that a person who voluntarily stopped the actions provided for in this article and informed the state authorities about it, is exempt from criminal liability if his actions do not contain elements of another crime. This means that the decision on the case was taken with the account of the registration of the institution.

Bear in mind that Aliaksei Shchadrou has created a shelter for the socially disadvantaged and disabled in the village of Aliaksandrauka in the Shchuchyn district. In June this year he was accused of having organized the activities of unregistered religious organization and provided the conditions for its operation without registration in the manner prescribed by law.