On July 28, Tsentralny district court has sentenced Dzmitry Lukashevich, a resident of Minsk, to three years of imprisonment for reckless killing Mikhail Pishcheuski, a homosexual person.
This is the second trial over Pishcheuski’s death. In 2015, when the victim was still alive, Lukashevich was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in jail. After serving almost a year, he was granted amnesty and released.
Pishcheuski’s sexual orientation allegedly became the reason for Mr Lukashevich attacking him in May, 2014. Having realised that the victim was badly hurt Lukashevich and his companions left the scene. The medics found Mikhail Pishcheuski in a critical state. Approximately 20% of his brain had to be cut in the course of a number of surgeries. Mikhail was in a coma for about a month and the hope for his recovery was poor.
In October 2015, Mikhail Pishcheuski passed away.
In June, Yuliya Hancharova, a representative of the Investigative Committee, said that the court action against Lukashevich would be restored due to ‘more serious consequences’, i.e. the death of the victim.
The prosecutor asked a prison term for 3 years. Mr Lukashevich pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct which resulted in the death of a person, but he denied his beating Pishcheuski on grounds of homophobia.
Dzmitry Lukashevich was sentenced to 3 years in prison and was taken into custody in the courtroom. The court took into cognizance a one-year period the defendant had already spent in jail as well as the fact of his being amnestied. Thus, in a year Lukashevich will walk free.
