“Incidents at this scale have not been seen since world war two”, Lizaveta Kasmach wrote in that report.
On 21 April, a coalition of six human rights organisations recognised the Svetlagorsk three, and eight other “railway partisans”, as political prisoners.Īn overview of the “railway partisans” movement by Belarus Digest estimated that in the first two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there were more than 80 actions. Obviously there is no reason to think that Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime will obey its own laws, and so the lives of the Svetlagorsk accused are in danger. Prior to that date, it could only be applied if the offences had led to deaths. But Zerkalo, the independent news site, published legal advice that the death penalty for terrorism offences, introduced on 29 May this year, can not be applied retroactively. The Investigations Committee said the trio could face the death penalty. The Svetlagorsk trio have been charged with: participating in an extremist organisation acts of terrorism deliberate harm to the transport system, resulting in serious damage and threats to life and treason. This is reportedly the most common form of rail sabotage: it wrecks automatic signalling systems, disrupts schedules and forces trains to move at reduced speeds of 15-20km/hour. The case against Ravich, Dzikun and Malchanau concerns an arson attack on a railway relay cabinet. He was holding his side, his face was bruised. I saw how he looked not so much as a scratch. The day before he was arrested, we spoke in the evening.
On the so called “confessional” video it is clear that my brother’s face was smashed in. Dzianis was severely beaten and forced to record a so-called confession on video – one of the Belarusian security forces’ standard techniques. Straight after his arrest in March, it was very different. At least they tried to do something.ĭmitry said that Dzianis, who is in a detention centre at Gomel’, had been able to send and receive letters, and had been visited by his partner and and his sister. They didn’t sit at home, like the “armchair battalion”. There are 11 people in the “railway partisans” case, and now the first three are going to court. They wanted to help Ukraine somehow – to stop these armaments, to make sure they couldn’t go further. Three people had been arrested, he said, and:Īs far as I understand, people knew that all the Russian equipment was moving towards the north of Ukraine through Belarus. Ravich, Dzikun and Malchanau were detained in Svetlagorsk on 4 March this year – a week after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine – along with Alisa Malchanau, Aleh’s daughter, and Natalia Ravich, Dzmitry’s wife, who were released a few days later.ĭzianis Dzikun’s brother, Dmitry, said in an interview last month that Dzianis had wanted “to help Ukraine somehow”. On Saturday 23 July, Belarusians will protest at their country’s embassy in London, in support of the Svetlagorsk defendants and eight others arrested on terrorism charges. The state Investigations Committee says they could face the death penalty, although lawyers say there is no basis for that in Belarusian law.
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