Over 4,200 criminal cases opened in Belarus on extremism, terrorism charges

Over 4,200 criminal cases on charges of extremism and terrorism have been opened in Belarus, BelTA learned from Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved after the prosecutor delivered his report to the head of state on 26 July.

The official said: “As of today over 4,200 criminal cases relating to these antisocial manifestations have been opened. As many as 803 criminal cases against 1,116 people have been sent to courts already, 704 criminal cases against 955 individuals have been processed.”

Andrei Shved stressed that Belarusian prosecutors take a principled stand. Taking into account circumstances of the cases the guilty are as a rule sentenced to severe penalties. “It is partially due to the realization of the principle of inevitability of accountability,” the official noted.

The Belarusian prosecution service continues taking measures to identify and find all the individuals, who have committed these crimes. Andrei Shved mentioned positive results in this area, including the extradition of persons of interest from other countries.

During the meeting with Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko Andrei Shved informed him about progress in investigating a coup attempt in Belarus in 2020 among other things. According to the prosecutor general, the prosecution service has indisputable evidence for these cases. “The investigation proceeds in an objective, comprehensive, and unbiased manner,” he stated.