Minsk charges a doctor with criminal case who reported the murder of a protester

Law enforcement agencies of Belarus opened a criminal case against a doctor who told the media about the death of opposition leader Roman Bondarenko , who was beaten up in Minsk by security forces. Journalists were informed about the initiation of a criminal case in the Prosecutor General’s Office of the republic.

According to the department, the defendants in the case were a doctor of the City Clinical Emergency Hospital and another person. The case was initiated under part 3 of Art. 178 of the Criminal Code – “the disclosure of medical secrets, which entailed grave consequences.”

“Acting deliberately, without a need for work, the suspect entered into a criminal conspiracy with a representative of the Internet resource, who was informed about the results of Roman Bondarenko’s medical examination. Thus, he divulged medical secrets, ”the ministry said in a statement.

Bondarenko died on November 11 as a result of aggressive action against the protesters by the Belarusian law enforcement officers. According to one version, the man tried to prevent the police officers from removing the protest symbols in the “protest” yards, according to another – he was attacked and severely beaten for having opposition attributes on his clothes . A spontaneous memorial was formed at the site of Roman’s murder, hundreds of people brought candles and flowers.

Commenting on the situation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the creation of memorials and the distribution of protest symbols in Minsk courtyards is “a step towards civil war.”

Observers noted that on October 29, Lukashenko also called for the creation of armed “people’s squads”, which should help the security forces in suppressing street protests.