The Criminal Cases Chamber of the Supreme Court of Belarus has upheld the sentence against Viktar Retski, one of the members of the so-called Morozov gang. The verdict has entered into legal force, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.
After committing the crimes, Retski left Belarus and had been on an international wanted list since 2007. He was detained in Kazakhstan on August 20, 2024, where he had been living under the name Bely A.O. At the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office, he was extradited to Belarus to face criminal charges under guarantees that the death penalty would not be applied.
The Homiel Regional Court found him guilty of murdering two or more persons with particular cruelty, for the purpose of concealing another crime, by a method dangerous to the lives of many people, and by a person who had previously committed intentional homicide. Given the gravity of the offences and the deaths of seven people, the court found no grounds to exempt him from liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Retski was sentenced to the maximum penalty available at the time the crimes were committed — 15 years of imprisonment. The first five years are to be served in prison, with the remainder in a maximum-security correctional colony.
As previously reported by the Investigative Committee, the defendant was involved in at least two high-profile murders committed during the criminal wars of the 1990s. Since 1994, he had been a member of the criminal organisation and served as its contract killer.
The first documented episode dates back to 1994. According to investigators, Retski and other gang members lured acquaintances from Vilnius to Homiel. Posing as police officers, they abused the victims while demanding information. Two people were killed in the city, after which their bodies, along with several foreign nationals who were still alive, were taken to the Sozh River and thrown into the water with metal track links tied to them.
Investigators also established that the crimes were often motivated by struggles for influence within the criminal underworld. The case materials also describe a 1997 incident in which gang members opened fire on a vehicle belonging to a criminal authority figure. Three people were killed, including a one-year-old child.
