The Vitebsk Regional Court has found two residents of the Vitebsk region, aged 23 and 21, guilty of murder committed with particular cruelty by a group of persons, the Prosecutor’s Office reported.
One of the defendants was sentenced to 17 years in prison, while the other received 15 years and six months. Both will serve their terms in a high-security penal colony. In addition, the court ordered the convicts to pay, jointly, monetary compensation for moral damages to the victim’s brother.
According to the prosecution, the motive for the murder was a personal grievance. A witness testified that during a conflict the victim had insulted the mother of one of the accused. Prosecutors said the woman told her son that he should “deal with” the offender. As a result, the two young men carried out a vigilante attack. They broke into the apartment of the 56-year-old victim and inflicted at least 40 blows with their hands and feet.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force.