Minsk sentences Japanese man to prison on espionage charge
March 17, Pozirk. The Minsk City Court has sentenced a Japanese man to seven years in prison and a fine after finding him guilty of spying, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.
In September, the Japanese Embassy in Belarus submitted a note to the foreign ministry in Minsk expressing concern about violations of the rights of the arrested. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja called the arrest “deeply alarming.”
“The court found the accused foreign national guilty of cooperating with a secret service, security body and intelligence agency of a foreign state, coupled with actions deliberately aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus,” the prosecutors said.
Judge Anžalika Kaściukievič, who was previously blamed for issuing politically motivated sentences, has tried the man behind closed doors since January 10.
Belarus 1 announced the July arrest of Masatoshi Nakanishi on September 5. The state television station said he had been based in Homiel and took pictures of roads, bridges and strategic facilities near the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
On December 3, the media reported the arrest of another Japanese national in Belarus for allegedly taking pictures of railway infrastructure facilities.
Belarus' embassy in Japan to suspend consular services
February 4, Pozirk. The Belarusian embassy in Japan will suspend consular services on February 10 until further notice, the foreign ministry's press office reported. The embassy will stop making consular appointments both for foreigners and Belarusians with consular assistance available …