Belarus Drops Charges Against Jewish Leader
Prosecutors in Minsk dropped key charges from their indictment against Yuri Dorn, a leader of the Jewish community of Belarus.
Dorn, who was president of the Union of Religious Jewish Congregations in Belarus at the time of his arrest last year, is no longer charged with bribery, a prosecutor in the case told the Central District Court of Minsk, according to the Belarus paper Nasha Niva.
Dorn will now stand trial on one criminal offense – abuse of power or authority connected with allegations that he rented out communal space without permission. The penalty, according to Niva, is up to three years in prison but could be as minor as a fine.
His indictment had included bribery and forgery charges, but it was revised on Feb. 28, the newspaper reported. Along with bribery, several other charges were dropped.
Dorn has denied all the allegations made against him, including those listed in the revised indictment.
Dorn was arrested in March 2012 on allegations that he had mismanaged the community’s property for personal gain. Police also said Dorn had been caught accepting a $13,000 bribe in a sting operation.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
