Belarus Investigative Committee warns "rail partisans" could face death penalty

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO — WEDNESDAY, 29 JUNE 2022, 14:08

The Investigative Committee of Belarus has announced the completion of the investigation into three "rail partisans"; the case has been transferred to the Prosecutor's Office for referral to court.

Source: The Investigative Committee of Belarus, Radio Svoboda, Viasna Human Rights Centre

Details: Three residents of Gomel Oblast are accused of setting fire to a railway relay cabinet on the night of 28 February to 1 March.

They are officially charged with four articles, including "terrorist attack" and "treason".

The accused are 29, 33 and 51 years old. According to human rights activists, they are "Svetlogorsk partisans" Dmitrii Ravich, Denis Dikun and Oleg Molchanov.

According to the Investigative Committee, they are already being called "traitors of the Motherland" despite the fact that the trial has not even begun.

The Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus also states that the men may face the maximum penalty of death for committing these acts.

Lawyer Pavel Sapelko explains that the "Svetlogorsk partisans" cannot be threatened with execution but the security forces are obviously looking forward to just such an opportunity.

The deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus have significantly expanded the possibilities of using the death penalty in the latest amendments to the Criminal Code. However, the possibility of execution by firing squad for "partisan" anti-war attacks on railway infrastructure, whereby people sought to prevent the transfer of Russian military equipment and weapons to Ukraine, will exist only for acts committed after 29 May, 2022 - the date of entry into force of the relevant changes.

"And the relentless, bloodthirsty rhetoric of government resources suggests that law enforcement agencies are looking forward to this opportunity," said the lawyer.

Background:

• After the start of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, a wave of arrests took place in Belarus on suspicion of disruptions to the schedule of Russian trains carrying weapons and of those involved in physical damage to the railway infrastructure in Belarus.
• On 4 March, 2022, Dmitrii and Natalia Ravich, Natalia’s brother Denis Dikun and his girlfriend Alisa Molchanova, along with her father Oleg Molchanov were detained in Svietlahorsk [in Belarus]. Dmitrii Ravich, Denis Dikun and Oleg Molchanov are in custody while Alisa and Natalia have been released. In June, the KGB of Belarus added the political prisoners to the "list of terrorists".
• A "repentance" video of Denis Dikun appeared on pro-government telegram channels. The young man, who looks as if he has been beaten up, says that on the instructions of ByPOL [​​a union of Belarusian security officers, which aims to restore democratic rule in Belarus under national leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya], he set fire to the signal cabinet at the Zherd-Ostankovichi station together with two other people on 28 February.
• At least 8 "rail partisans" have been detained since the beginning of the war.