He tore off the flag and put it in his pocket. A resident of Smorgon was taken into custody for desecrating state symbols

March 7, MINSK . The prosecutor of the Smorgon district sanctioned the application of a preventive measure in the form of detention against a 35-year-old local resident - he is charged with desecration of state symbols under Article 370 of the Criminal Code. This was reported to BELTA by the information service of the prosecutor's office of the Grodno region.

According to the materials of the criminal case, on February 27 this year, the accused, while in a state ofintoxicated , grabbed a flagpole and tore down the National Flag of the Republic of Belarus along with the flagpole and staff near a store in Smorgon . The man then tore the flagpole from its mount and put it in his jacket pocket.

The incident was noticed by employees of the retail facility, who called law enforcement officers. "By his actions, the accused demonstrated an offensive attitude towards state symbols," the prosecutor's office explained the illegality of the defendant's actions.

The prosecutor sanctioned the application of the said preventive measure taking into account the circumstances of the crime, as well as information about the identity of the accused, who had previously been repeatedly brought to administrative responsibility.