Five Kalinouski Regiment Members Added to Belarusian “Terrorist List”

Belarus’s KGB has updated its list of individuals allegedly involved in “terrorist activities,” adding nine people. Among them are five members of the Kalinouski Regiment: Yury Makitau, Khrystsina Stankevich, Mikhail Chuprynski, Mikalai Boika and Natallia Nikitsina. On August 20, the Minsk City Court sentenced them in absentia to prison terms ranging from 12 to 20 years.

They were tried under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus:

• participation in a criminal organisation (Article 285),
• conspiracy to seize state power (Article 357),
• participation in an extremist group (Article 361-1),
• participation in an armed formation or armed conflict, or hostilities, on the territory of a foreign state, as well as recruiting or training individuals for such participation (Article 361-3),
• facilitating extremist activities (Article 361-4),
• undergoing training or other preparation to participate in extremist activities (Article 361-5),
• participation in a terrorist organisation (Article 290-5).

The list also includes political prisoner Eduard Kurliandchyk, Artsiom Litvinko, Andrei Kashanski and Yulia Nikitsina.

The KGB’s “terrorist list” now contains 1,476 people, including 725 Belarusian citizens.

It should be noted that the Belarusian authorities use accusations of extremism and terrorism to target political opponents and dissent in general.