MOSCOW (Reuters) – A courtroom in Minsk sentenced a dozen people to jail phrases of between two and 25 years on Friday for serving to commit what Belarus has known as an “act of terrorism” at a navy airfield outdoors the capital final 12 months.
A bunch of Belarusian anti-government activists mentioned in February 2023 that that they had blown up a complicated Russian navy surveillance plane in a drone assault on the base.
Russia and Belarus dismissed the assertion as faux, with Belarusian state tv publishing footage exhibiting what it mentioned was the undamaged Beriev A-50 surveillance craft.
A couple of week later, Minsk mentioned it had detained a “terrorist” and greater than 20 accomplices over tried sabotage on the airfield.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a detailed ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, alleged on the time that Ukrainian safety companies and the U.S. Central Intelligence company have been behind the operation. He mentioned the plane had suffered solely superficial harm within the assault, which was carried out utilizing a “small drone”, the Belta information company reported.
On Friday, Belarus’ Basic Prosecutor’s workplace mentioned the Minsk Metropolis Court docket had sentenced 12 people after discovering them responsible of terrorism, extremism and different severe crimes.
The primary defendant, Ukrainian nationwide Nikolai Shvets, was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in jail. Shvets, who gave an interview to Belarusian state tv final April wherein he detailed how he deliberate the assault, was launched in a prisoner change with Ukraine in June, in response to Belarusian rights group Viasna.
It was not clear how lots of the others have been sentenced in absentia.
