Two estate
agents who klled six people after deceiving them into giving up their
homes have been executed.The "evil" gang consisting of three men and one
woman buried their victims alive.As a result two of the men were
sentenced to death, the other man was sentenced to 22 years in prison
while the woman was spared death because Belarus does not execute women.
She was, however, sentenced to 24 years in prison.The group were
convicted of persuading six lonely "alcoholics" who lived on their own
in Mogilyov region to exchange their flats for smaller apartments and
some money. They were shown their "new homes", which in reality is a
flat the estate agents had rented for a day. After they had signed over
their old residence to a gang member, the evil estate agents offered
them vodka to celebrate completing the deal.But the shots were spiked
with medication Clonidine to make them drowsy. Then they were taken to
"abandoned places" and killed, or in several cases, according to police,
were buried alive.Three empty graves had been prepared for "future
victims" when the men were caught, a court heard.Igor Gershankov, 37,
and Semyon Berezhnov, 32, were sentenced to death.
Semyon
Berezhnov Belarus is the only country in Europe that still allows
executions. Alexander Lukashenko, the President who has ruled Belarus
for almost 25 years, refused to pardon both men so they went ahead with
their execution.The men were ordered to kneel then shot in the back of
the head with a pistol by a state executioner in a Minsk jail, say
sources. Their families were not informed in advance that the men would
be killed nor permitted a final meeting. It is unclear exactly when the
executions were carried out as the authorities routinely do not give
details.Gershankov’s wife Tatiana, mother of the couple’s two underage
children, was sentenced to 24 years thanks to the country's laws which
does not execute women.
Igor Gershankov
and wife Tatiana A fourth member of the gang of "black estate agents"
named as Boris Kolyosnikov, 22, was jailed for 22
years.
