16 April 2021
According to Amnesty International, several articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child have been violated in the case of a minor Zolotarev.
During the investigation and trial, the Belarusian authorities violated his right not to be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, as well as his right to a fair trial. During his arrest and in custody, he was beaten with an electric shock baton, and police officers interrogated him in the absence of a lawyer or adult legal representative. In addition, he was held in pre-trial detention for more than six months, in violation of human rights standards for the treatment of children.
On February 22, the judge Dmitry Deboy has sentenced Nikita Zolotarev to five years in an educational colony. During the trial, the boy said that he was beaten more than once. Nikita suffers from epilepsy, but he does not receive the necessary medications.
On April 23, a judge of the Gomel Regional Court dismissed the appeal of 16-year-old Nikita Zolotarev and upheld the verdict.
