Minsk city court has sentenced Lieutenant Colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Dzmitry Samsonau to 19 years in prison. The trial lasted for three months and was held behind closed doors, reports the HRC Viasna.
Judge Tatsyana Falkouskaya heard the case. Lieutenant colonel of intelligence Dzmitry Samsonau was accused of treason (Part 1 Article 356 of the Criminal Code), purposeful disclosure of a state secret (Part 1 Article 375 of the Criminal Code), and the laundering of proceeds from crime (Part 2 Article 235 of the Criminal Code).
According to human rights activists, almost nothing is known about the case, the trial, and Samsonau himself. Before autumn 2020, Dzmitry Samsonau worked at the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of the Defense Ministry with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served in the secret unit 15738. This directorate, among other things, had access to materials obtained by the KGB, including wiretapping materials.
“It is known that Dzmitry was detained in 2020 and held in custody until his trial. His trial lasted from October 4 in a closed regime, as the case materials contained information containing state secrets. Dzmitry is now in pre-trial prison 1 in Valadarski,” the HRC Viasna reports.
It is unclear whether the case is connected with political events. Last fall, Nasha Niva journalists tried to contact Samsonau’s family, but they neither confirmed nor denied this theory. There were no mentions of Dzmitry Samsonau either in the pro-government media or TV channels, and the press services of law enforcement agencies and the court did not report the case. Also, Dzmitry was not mentioned in the film “Mankurts” about law enforcement officers on ONT.
