A criminal case opened over damage to Belarusian railway “for an act of terrorism committed by an organized group”

March 3, BPN. Prosecutor General Andrej Šved has opened a criminal case under Article 289, part 3 of the Criminal Code (an act of terrorism committed by an organized group) “for crimes against the safety of traffic and transport operation,” said the official representative of the Prosecutor General Anžalika Kurčak.

“In late February this year, in order to destabilize public order in Belarus and in fulfillment of appeals, posted online, the cases of damaging signalling and other transport equipment of Belarusian Railways were recorded,” said Kurčak. “The perpetrators knowingly created a risk of death, bodily injury, accidents, crashes and other serious consequences, including the violation of the stable operation of the railway transport.”

“The criminal case was handed over to the Investigative Committee for the organization of the preliminary investigation. <…> The penalty for this criminal offense is imprisonment from 10 to 25 years, life imprisonment or the death penalty,” said the representative of the General Prosecutor’s Office.

Previously, Cyberpartisans and ByPol groups, recognized as extremist formations in Belarus, reported damage to railroad infrastructure through cyberattacks and physical infiltration. They say that these actions led to significant disruptions.

On March 2, the Ministry of Internal Affairs partially confirmed this information. According to the Interior Ministry, between February 28 and March 1, “three cases of railway signalling equipment destruction and blocking of railroad tracks were registered” in Mahilioŭ, Homiel’, and Minsk regions. Consequently, “the railway infrastructure has been taken under the control of the internal affairs bodies and internal troops.”

According to the police, in the night of March 2, a couple from Stoŭbcy “who set fire to logs on the railway tracks with the aim of obstructing the movement of trains” was detained, “both were under the influence of alcohol.”

It is also reported that a 35-year-old “rail partisan” was detained in Žodzina.