A final judgment in the case against Ihar Vasilyew, a former first deputy head of the Minsk City Executive Committee, will be held on the afternoon of February 11.
A spokesperson for the Minsk Regional Court told that BelaPAN on Friday. According to him, the pronouncing of the judgment is expected to be open to the public.
On January 31, Andrey Lytsin, the public prosecutor in the case demanded 15 years in prison and the forfeiture of property for the 52-year-old Vasilyew.
The trial, which began in the Minsk Regional Court on December 20, has mostly been held behind closed doors, although it was announced that the hearing would be open to the public.
Mr. Vasilyew was arrested in his office by KGB officers on July 6, 2012 and charged with abuse of power and bribery under Part Three of the Criminal Code’s Article 430.
According to the KGB, Mr. Vasilyew tried to extort a bribe from representatives of a Czech company that planned to invest more than $30 million in the construction of a waste recycling plant near Minsk. Mr. Vasilyew is said to have promised the company to help extend the deadline for the protracted project in exchange for a $500,000 bribe. Half of the amount was brought to his office by a representative of the Czech company one day before his arrest.
Mr. Vasilyew has pleaded not guilty and accused the KGB of violating his rights.
