A Belarusian teenager serving a 15-year prison term after being convicted of killing a woman with a chainsaw in an attack on a shopping mall faces new charges and could be sentenced to life in prison.
Uladzislau Kazakevich is now charged with the attempted murder of guards at the prison where he is being held in the eastern city of Shklou, and with plotting to kill the warden.
His second trial started in Mahileu Regional Court on April 11.
The prison administration alleges that Kazakevich, 19, stabbed a prison guard with a handmade knife and tried to stab another guard in October.
At his previous trial, Kazakevich pleaded guilty to using a chainsaw and an ax to attack four women at a shopping mall in Minsk in October 2016, killing one and injuring two.
In March 2017, he was convicted of murder with extreme violence, attempted murder, and the infliction of injuries and sentenced him to 15 years in prison, the maximum term for a minor in Belarus.
Now that he is 19, he could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty.
Kazakevich’s parents say that their son is mentally ill and needs medical help.
Investigators in the initial case said that Kazakevich suffered from psychological problems, but the court ruled that he was fit for trial.