In the Viciebsk regional court on January 25, the second hearing of the criminal case of Olga Stepanova, previously convicted for the death of the child at home birth, was completed. The case was considered in closed mode. The judge of the regional court Galina Bondal announced a verdict in which Olga Stepanova was found not guilty in connection with the absence of a crime.
Olga herself was not present for the second hearing of the case and for the announcement of the verdict, she is in St. Petersburg.
Her lawyer Nadezhda Biryukova commented on the verdict:
– It was very hard and nervous. According to today's verdict Stepanova is justified. A private resolution was sent to the Investigative Committee, which pointed to the shortcomings in the conduct of the preliminary investigation.
Olga Stepanova has the right to compensation for material and moral damage – for being in the SIZO from May 6 to September 7, 2017, for the services of a lawyer and other legal costs. If the prosecutor's office does not challenge today's verdict, we will file for compensation. If it does, we will file protests. Olga blames the death of the newborn daughter of Viciebsk doctors, but we have not yet discussed whether she will file a lawsuit against them.
On September 7, 2017, the Railway District Court of Viciebsk found Olga Stepanov guilty of the death of her newborn daughter. The woman gave birth at home, but could not cope when she noticed that the baby was not breathing. On the basis of Part 1 of Article 144 of the Criminal Code, Olga Stepanova was accused of causing death by negligence.
She was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 6 months with the serving of punishment in the correctional colony in the conditions of the colony-settlement. The woman took advantage of her right to appeal the verdict and filed an appeal.
The complaint was granted and the case was sent for reconsideration. This time, in the circumstances of the death of the newborn child, the regional court was dealing with. The trial in the Viciebsk regional court began on January 9, seven meetings took place, at which Olga Stepanova herself was not present. Her interests were defended by lawyer Nadezhda Biryukova. She said that Olga Stepanova did not admit her guilt from the very beginning. She spoke about this to journalists, and in a special video message to Alexander Lukashenko, where she asked to stop the criminal case brought against her.
The woman explained that she has experience of home births – she gave birth to the first daughter at home, but in St. Petersburg, where she has been living for several years. She wanted to give birth to the second child in Viciebsk, where her mother lives, as she hoped for help in the care of children. I came here especially in the middle of pregnancy with my eldest daughter. A few months later, on February 19, 2017, she gave birth to a younger child, but could not cope when she noticed that the newborn girl was not breathing. According to relatives, the ambulance arrived arrived in time, and the baby could not be rescued.
A certain hope that the criminal case against Olga Stepanova will be finally canceled, gave rise to the words of the Minister of Health. Speaking before the congress of obstetrician-gynecologists and neonatologists of Belarus, the Minister of Health Valeriy Malashko noted that he does not consider either the mother-in-law or the doctors guilty of the death of the baby. Although he noted that good conditions have been created in the Belarusian maternity hospitals, and he is not a supporter of choosing home births as an alternative.
BS, svaboda.org
