Moscow District Court in Minsk sentenced 22-year-old singer Timofey Morozov, known as Tima Belorusskikh, to two years of restriction of freedom without referral to a correctional facility.[1] His associate Anton Krivetsky was sentenced alongside him to the same type of restriction of freedom.[2] The court found Morozov guilty of storing drugs without intent to sell.[1] Morozov admitted guilt and expressed remorse.[1] After he was charged, Morozov was released on bail of 8,700 Belarusian rubles while Krivetsky remained in custody.[1]

Police said officers seized 0.4 grams of hashish and 0.03 grams of amphetamine from Morozov on the night of 6 January.[1] Prosecutors said the pair had bought more than 1.96 grams of hashish online in December 2020 and January 2021 and used part of it in a Minsk gaming club before police found the remainder.[2] The charge sheet listed 1.9609 grams of hashish and 0.0375 grams of amphetamine covering purchase, use, transport and storage.[2] The case was charged under part 1 of article 328 of Belarus Criminal Code, which carried up to five years in prison.[1][3]

The two said they bought the drugs online through dead drops.[1] In August 2020 Morozov had publicly supported Belarusians who protested after the presidential election.[1][3] Early media claims that Belorusskikh had been detained with several kilograms of hashish were false.[1][3]

Police detained Morozov on the night of 6 January in a gaming club in Minsk, which Onliner reports as the location the Investigative Committee gave.[4][3] The head of the Investigative Committee’s Minsk directorate said urgent investigative steps were taken and chemical and forensic-genetic examinations were assigned to the State Committee of Forensic Examinations.[4]