“Rail guerilla” Aliaksei Shyshkavets sentenced to 11 years in jail
On October 12, 2022, the Mahilioŭ Regional Court passed a verdict in the criminal case of political prisoner Aliaksei Shyshkavets from Asipovičy accused of ‘terrorism’ and ‘participation in hostilities on foreign soil’ under Articles 289 and 361-3 of the Criminal Code.
Judge Siarhei Mazurau considered the case.
Shyshkavets, one of the Belarusian “rail guerillas”, was detained in March 2022.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the man “joined the extremist formation BYPOL, having authorized a mobilization chatbot to commit unlawful acts in Belarus” early in 2022. The official body claims, that on March 1, 2022, he had received instructions on blocking railroad tracks, and on preparing and using Molotov cocktails.
In September 2022, the KGB put Shyshkavets on the list of persons involved in terrorist activities.
The trial lasted almost three weeks, reports MAYDAYMog.
As the result, Judge Siarhei Mazurau sentenced the political prisoner to 11 years of imprisonment in a medium-security penal colony.
UPDATE: The first version of this article falsely stated that Shyshkavets was tried under Part 3 of Article 361, in fact, he was convicted under Article 361-3, ‘participation in hostilities on foreign soil’ . We apologize for the inaccuracy.
