The prosecutor’s office has sent to court a criminal case against two 18-year-old and one 17-year-old foreign nationals. It concerns the high-profile attack on a private home in the Smaliavichy district, which took place in February this year.
According to the prosecution, on Feb. 16 the defendants, acting on instructions from unidentified individuals, went to the residence of a married couple, a 63-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman, in the Smaliavichy district. In exchange for financial compensation, they were supposed to inflict bodily injuries on the pensioners, including broken arms and legs.
The prosecutor’s office said the crime may have been motivated by a conflict between the victims’ daughter and her partner.
“The woman has been living in one of the countries outside the region for a long time. After she reported to the police that her partner had beaten her, he threatened to physically harm her parents,” the statement said.
At about 4 a.m. on Feb. 16, the assailants smashed a window and entered the house. They were armed with a baseball bat and two air pistols. The men threatened the victims with murder and serious bodily harm.
They then beat the couple and the homeowner’s 67-year-old brother, who was also in the house.
“They repeatedly struck the victims with the bat, their hands and feet, forced them to kneel, causing repeated and prolonged pain as well as severe physical and psychological suffering. They recorded their actions on a mobile phone camera to provide a report to the person who had commissioned the attack,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The 63-year-old homeowner was struck at least 23 times and sustained multiple injuries. His wife suffered a fracture of the humerus in her right arm. The homeowner’s brother was struck on the head with the bat and sustained skull fractures.
The homeowner managed to press the alarm button. The attackers were detained by a police patrol that arrived at the scene.
The three foreign nationals have been charged with attempted intentional infliction of serious bodily harm in a manner constituting torture, committed by a group of persons for mercenary motives, and intentional infliction of less serious bodily harm (Part 1, Article 14; Part 3, Article 147; Part 1, Article 149 of the Criminal Code). All three defendants remain in custody.
