4 February 2021
The verdict to Ruslan Okostko was announced. He has been sentenced to three years`imprisonment in a penal camp and to a compensatory payment of 2,000 BYR in favor of the district internal affairs officer (ROVD).
On November 15 last year, the miner marched through the city of Soligorsk with a white-red-white flag. That was an event to commemorate the murdered Roman Bondarenko.
Okostko's mother told the Soligorsk edition of "Leader-Press" about the motivation behind her son's deed:
After the death of Roman Bondarenko, he could not sit idle by. The son grew up with a real strong sense of right and wrong. He just said: “Mama, I'm going out! I could have been in Roman's place! ".
During the trial, Okostko's mother managed to talk to the “injured” officer of the ROVD: “I am here as a mother, we all live on earth. And you also have a mom. I wish you that your mother will never shed a single tear. How did you manage to bring the case of falling during turmoil to the court hearing?
Half of the police officers were silent, maybe they started feeling a little bit guilty...
I forgive you for your abuse of my son. For your violence against him, when you have pushed the stick of the flag into his mouth with the words: "Eat this, what else are you missing?" For all the humiliation Ruslan had to go through. I see that my son is strong, he can handle it. May God forgive you. I feel sorry for the victim: there is emptiness in his eyes, I forgive him. It's hard to live without a soul. To what extent people´s hearts became callous! "
