Ukrainian journalist on trial on espionage charges in Minsk
Image from Pavlo Sharoiko's Facebook account
The Supreme Court of Belarus on 12 February started the trial of Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sharoiko who is facing espionage charges.
The hearing is taking place behind the closed doors, Supreme Court spokesperson Yulia Liaskova told tut.by.
Pavlo Sharoiko was detained in November 2017. The Belarus' state security service KGB said back then that a Ukraine military intelligence officer had been detained during a covert source operation. The Belarusian counter-intelligence service claimed that Sharoiko had recruited a ring of agents from the ranks of Belarus citizens who collected military and political intelligence for money. Sharoiko has remained in custody since his detention.
During interrogations, Sharoiko reportedly admitted he was supervised by Ukraine military intelligence officer Igor Skvortsov who worked under the cover of a counselor at the Embassy of Ukraone in Minsk. Belarus declared Skvortsov persona non-grata.
Sharoiko is facing between seven to 15 years in prison for espionage.
Simultaneously, Ukraine has started the trial of Belarus national Yury Palityk also on espionage charges. The man was detained in the summer of 2017 in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
