The Minsk City Court has sentenced a resident of the Belarusian capital who was charged with financing what the authorities classify as extremist activities and with the illegal handling of a firearm.
The charge under Part 1 of Article 361-2 of the Criminal Code was based on two donations—one of $5 and another of €10—to BYSOL and the Belarusian Council for Culture, both of which have been designated as extremist organisations by the Belarusian authorities.
“He learned about the possibility of transferring funds to these unlawful groups to support their activities through the social network Facebook,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.
The charge under Part 2 of Article 295 of the Criminal Code stemmed from the man’s purchase of a traumatic pistol through an online marketplace in December 2024.
“In December 2024, the man purchased a BULDOG revolver manufactured by the KURS factory through an online marketplace for more than 3,000 Belarusian rubles. The weapon is designed to fire rubber spherical projectiles using 5.6×16 mm construction cartridges. According to an expert opinion, the revolver is a traumatic firearm.
The defendant illegally carried, transported and stored the firearm in his personal vehicle,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.
Such firearms are legal in Russia.
The court sentenced the Minsk resident to five years of restricted freedom without placement in an open correctional facility and imposed a fine of 100 basic units (4,500 Belarusian rubles). The revolver and his car were also confiscated.
