In Minsk, a woman deprived of parental rights was convicted – her debt for the maintenance of children exceeded 46,300 BYN

The on-site hearing of the court was held in the Zavodsk police station on October 8 — 41-year-old Minsk woman was accused of evading reimbursement of expenses spent by the state for the maintenance of her children on state support, the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”.

The criminal case was considered by the judge of the Zavodsk district court Elena Nekrasova. The meeting invited citizens who are on various types of registration in the police, including obligated persons whose children are on state support.

The accused has two children, a 19-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, in respect of whom she is deprived of parental rights. According to the ruling on the court order of the Zavodsky district, since January 2017, the mother is obliged to reimburse the costs spent by the state for their maintenance.

Previously, the woman worked as a cleaner in a communal organization, from where she was fired in connection with a conviction for evading reimbursement of these costs. The employee regularly allowed absenteeism without good reason, which entailed incomplete fulfillment of obligations.

After serving a sentence of one month of arrest, the Minsk woman did not draw proper conclusions, she did not stand on the path of correction. In February 2026, she was employed as a sorter of recyclables, but she still skipped work.

Another criminal case was opened against the woman. The total arrears for the maintenance of two children exceeded BYN 46,300. Employees of the enforcement department repeatedly warned her about responsibility, but the defendant did not pay any attention to their words.

In court, the woman fully admitted her guilt, repented of what she had done.

- The accused has a secondary education, she is not married, officially employed, in September 2025 she was already brought to criminal responsibility for committing a similar crime, said Egor Vorobey, senior assistant prosecutor of the Zavodsky district, who acted as a state prosecutor in the criminal case. - The court found her guilty of committing a crime under Part 3 of Art. 174 of the Criminal Code ("Family evasion from the maintenance of children or from reimbursement of expenses spent by the state for the maintenance of children who are or were on state support"), and imposed a punishment of two years of restriction of freedom without sending them to an open-type correctional institution. In addition, the accused must undergo compulsory treatment for chronic alcoholism.

The sentence has not entered into force, can be appealed and challenged in accordance with the procedure established by law.

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After the end of the trial, E. Nekrasova delivered a lecture on the protection of children’s rights.

Caring for children and their upbringing is the duty of parents, enshrined in the Marriage and Family Code of the Republic of Belarus. If the family is recognized as dysfunctional, and the life and health of the minor is in danger, the state takes the child and takes him under full custody, the judge said. The removal of a child and its transfer to state security does not release parents from material obligations for its maintenance. They have the obligation to fully compensate the state for the costs spent on the maintenance of the child.

E. Nekrasova made a special emphasis on criminal liability under Article 174 of the Criminal Code. It occurs if the obligated person does not appear for work 10 or more working days within three months; hides or understates the amount of wages and equivalent incomes; evades employment by a court order committed within a year after the imposition of an administrative penalty for the same violation that entailed non-fulfillment or incomplete fulfillment of obligations to reimburse expenses spent by the state for the maintenance of children who are or were on state support.

“Article 174 of the Criminal Code is an effective legal mechanism for bringing to justice for parental irresponsibility,” the judge said. The state system of recovery of expenses for maintenance of children operates continuously. Practice shows that attempts to evade financial obligations to their children are only an illusion of freedom, which for most citizens ends with a real court verdict.

Photo court of the Factory District