According to the prosecution , Alexander was drunk when on the night of June 19, 2023, he allegedly first tore down a flag mounted on the wall of one of the stores. Afterwards, he removed another flag from a house in Minsk near a metro station, after which he handed it over to a metro employee. After that, he allegedly removed the flag from the facade of the building of the Belpochta RUE branch and left it at the entrance. At the end of the action, the man allegedly tore off another flag, which he threw at a public transport stop and set it on fire. That same night, Alexander allegedly set fire to a plastic waste container. Alexander Smirnov did not admit guilt during the trial. He said that he tore down the flags when he was drunk, because he wanted to leave a memory of his stay in Belarus and hang them at home. He had no intention of desecrating state symbols. He set fire to one of the flags by accident, and was completely absent from the scene of one of the incidents. Alexander noted that he gave preliminary testimony regarding this episode under physical and emotional pressure from police officers .
On November 14, 2023, an appeal court hearing was held. The verdict came into force.
3 years imprisonment in a general regime colony
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