Yanka Kupala Theatre actor appeals his sentence

Artsiom Barodzich’s appeal against the district court’s ruling arrived at Kastrychnitski District Court of Minsk on March 4. The date of the hearing is yet to be set.

Yanka Kupala Theatre actor Artsyom Barodzich was sentenced to 5 years in prison without confiscation of his property. Judge Alyaksandr Rudenka pronounced the verdict in Minsk's Kastrychnitski District Court on March 2. The prosecutor asked to imprison Barodzich for 6 years.

The actor was returned guilty of preserving marihuana with the purpose of further distribution (Article 328 (2) of the Penal Code of Belarus). Barodzich confessed to smoking marihuana for 6 years but stressed he was not going to sell the drug.

In the view of his lawyer, prosecution failed to prove the actor had planned to sell the drug. He also reckons that the police officers searched the actor’s flat in violation of the procedure – they did not ask for permission to search the flat and were walking across the rooms when neither Barodzich nor witnesses were present there.

Barodzich’s fellow actors from Yanka Kupala There were in court to express support. All of them were present during the delivery of the sentence.