The Minsk Regional Court sentenced a 37-year-old resident of the Pukhavichy district to 18 years in a special-regime penal colony for the murder of a war veteran committed 19 years ago, the Minsk regional prosecutor’s office reported.
According to the case materials, on the night of January 5-6, 2007, the intoxicated defendant broke into the home of an 83-year-old man in the village of Svetly Bor. He found 250,000 pre-denomination rubles, a Luch watch, and state awards of the USSR, the BSSR, and Belarus.
When the homeowner caught the defendant at the scene, the man pushed the pensioner and struck him on the head with a hammer at least three times. He was aware of the victim’s age and disability status, as the man had a second-degree disability related to a musculoskeletal disorder.
After attacking the pensioner, the defendant left the house with the money and awards. Several days later, the victim died in hospital from an open cranial injury.
From 2010 to 2018, the defendant was repeatedly prosecuted, including for robbery. He was released from prison in 2024 and committed another crime in the same village. In May 2025, while drinking alcohol in a group, he beat the owner of a house and broke seven of the woman’s ribs.
The man was tried for murder combined with robbery, as well as for inflicting grievous bodily harm by a person previously convicted of murder. During the trial, he refused to testify. The defendant received 18 years in a special-regime penal colony. The sentence has not yet entered into force and may be appealed.