Homiel: Deaf-mute worker gets 2 years in jail for insulting Lukashenka and ‘calls for violence’
A Homiel court passed a guilty verdict in the case of 30-year-old Dzmitry Zalomski. The man is deaf-mute, his hearing aid was seized from him in court, Radio Liberty reports.
Dzmitry worked as an adjuster at Vipra, the only enterprise in Homiel that employs people with hearing disabilities. Since February, several searches have been conducted in his place; his computer and phone were confiscated.
According to the prosecution, Dzmitry “used a personal computer and other devices to post a photo of the head of state on one of the Telegram channels.The post contained a negative assessment; continuing his illegal actions, in October 2020 he published a message insulting a government official on a Telegram channel, and in February 2021 – a message calling for violent actions against the deputy chairman of one of Minsk court”.
The trial was held behind closed doors, even relatives were not allowed to attend it. Dzmitry Zalomski was sentenced to two years of imprisonment.
Dzmitry was taken into custody in the courtroom after the verdict was announced, his friends say. The punishment awarded came as a bit of a shock to him. They fear that the defendant will have to serve his term without a hearing aid.
