‘Espionage’: Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sharoiko gets 8-year jail term in Belarus
Pavlo Sharoiko was sentenced to eight years in prison, Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Igor Kizim said on the sidelines of the Minsk Dialogue forum on Wednesday.
At the moment, Sharoiko is in the KGB jail in Minsk, TUT.by reports with reference to the ambassador.
The trial of the Ukrainian citizen which began in February was held behind closed doors. Until today, there have been no reports on his fate.
UA: Ukrainian Radio employee Pavlo Sharoiko was arrested in Minsk in late October.
According to the KGB spokesman Dzmitry Pabyarzhyn, Sharoiko, an officer of Ukraine’s military intelligence, worked undercover as a radio correspondent and created a spy network of the citizens of Belarus. Sharoiko’s work was coordinated by Ihor Skvortsov, who ‘acted under the guise of the Ukrainian embassy counselor in Belarus’, Pabyarzhyn said. Skvortsov was declared persona non grata and expelled from Belarus.
In late November, Sharoiko was accused of espionage.
Ukrainian government agencies have repeatedly refuted the claim by the KGB of the alleged involvement of Pavlo Sharoiko in espionage and his being an intelligence officer.
belsat.eu
