Deserter gets away unpunished

A military court has dropped criminal charges against Pyotr Hrynkou, a youth who deserted from a military unit and was hiding for 15 years. The ERB asked his relatives and villagers why he fled the unit and how he managed to get away with it.

Tadevush, a neighbor of the Hrynkow, says the youth was hiding at his home since he fled the Armed Forces in 1995. He says the boy had been harassed in the army.

"They said he had a fight with a soldier, he was beaten black and blue. He complained to commanders but they failed to react. His mother went there and brought him home," Tadevush told ERB.

Tadevush says that the boy was hiding in the Hrynkou's shack in the forest.

Pyotr Hrynkou Sr. says his son is a victim of hazing. "He was bullied and beaten. He said they beat him in the chest. Even his metal uniform buttons were deformed. I came there one day late, he already ran away."

Seven years after the incident, police caught Hrynkou at his father's home but did not lock him up pending trial. An investigation lasted for eight years but the case was dropped based on the statute of limitations. Locals said that police dragged out the probe deliberately to cover up officers responsible for hazing practices.

The father says his son currently works in Lida as an auto mechanic.

The Hrynkous' shack is like a military bunker





Pyotr Hrynkou Sr.