Mazyr rail partisans get lengthy prison terms

February 8, BPN. The Homiel Regional Court has sentenced two men to lengthy prison terms over alleged intentions to damage railroad equipment in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Siarhiej Plaškun, 35, and Juryj Selvič, 45, have been given 16 and 14 years in prison, respectively, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

Judge Aleh Charoška found them guilty of seven crimes, including terrorism, damage to property, inciting hatred, and facilitating extremism.

Police arrested Plaškun and Selvič in late February 2022. Both went on trial on December 6, 2022. Prosecutors accused them of purchasing components for Molotov cocktails for alleged terrorist acts and planning to cause damage to transport facilities.

Investigators accused Plaškun of monitoring movements of Russian military equipment and sharing this information with an opposition Telegram channel. They also said he painted anti-Russian graffiti on a fence in the Mazyr district.

Acts of sabotage were reported on Belarusian railroads as antiwar groups sought to disrupt movements of Russian troops and equipment near Ukraine after the Russian assault on February 24, 2022.

Human rights groups declared 11 rail partisans — Siarhiej Hliebka, Dzmitryj Ravič, Dzianis Dzikun, Alieh Maŭčanaŭ, Siarhiej Kanavalaŭ, Siarhiej Pliaškun, Juryj Sielvič, Jauhien Minkievič, Dźmitryj Klimaŭ, and Uladzimir Aŭramcaŭ – political prisoners.

The interior ministry reported that Minkievič, Klimaŭ, and Aŭramcaŭ received bullet wounds during their arrest on March 30. An opposition Telegram channel of Belarusian railway workers noted that the men did not resist and appeared to have been shot in the knees on purpose.

Interior Minister Ivan Kurbakoŭ said on April 19 that traditional law enforcement methods had failed to deter criminals, so police had employed a combination of brutal arrests and media campaigns. A video of men with gunshot wounds was released by a social media account associated with the Belarusian authorities.