The Minsk Regional Court sentenced Eduard Babariko, the son of the former presidential candidate of Belarus Viktar Babariko, to eight years in a high-security penal colony. It is reported by "Belta".
The prosecutor requested ten years in prison for Eduard Babariko. Babariko was accused of "inciting social hatred", "money laundering" and "tax evasion". He spent three years in jail.
Viktar Babaryka was detained in the summer of 2020 at the height of the presidential election campaign after he collected the necessary signatures for his candidacy. Instead of the prescribed 100,000, the volunteers of Babariko's headquarters in a short time collected a record 435,000 signatures for Belarus, the authenticity of which was recognized by the Central Election Commission of the country. At the same time, Babariko was charged in the framework of the “Belgazprombank case”. Later, his son Edward was also charged. The initiation of a criminal case and arrest prevented Viktor Babariko from opposing Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential elections in Belarus.
On July 6, 2021, Viktar Babariko was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was found guilty under two articles of the Criminal Code – taking a bribe on an especially large scale (part 3 of article 430 of the Criminal Code) and legalization of proceeds from crime (part 2 of article 235 of the Criminal Code).