MINSK -- A court in Minsk has sentenced a man to 13 years in a maximum security prison after he was convicted of being part of a group involved in damaging railways to disrupt the supply of Russian arms and troops to Ukraine.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on January 9 that the Minsk regional court sentenced 40-year-old Vital Melnik after finding him guilty of terrorism, possessing illegal firearms, premeditated damage to state property, and publicly insulting the country's authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Judge Anzhalika Danilava also ruled that Melnik's car and phone should be confiscated.
Melnik was among some 60 men and women arrested for their alleged involvement in damaging infrastructure on Belarus railways to impede the progress of Russian troops and arms into Ukraine since Moscow invaded its neighbor in late February 2022.
Investigators found two pistols and ammunition in Melnik's home. Melnik was also accused of damaging a traffic light along a railway in western Belarus in late March 2022.
Investigators say Melnik’s action disrupted the movement of 22 cargo and 17 passenger trains. Police said later that they also found Melnik had made posts online that insulted Lukashenka.
The campaign, called the "railway war," was initiated in Belarus by a group called BYPOL. Those involved in the campaign have been nicknamed "railway guerrillas."
Several members of the group have been handed lengthy prison terms in recent months. Many cases are still being investigated.
Belarus is not a direct participant in the war in Ukraine, but it has provided logistical support to Moscow for the invasion by allowing Russian forces to enter Ukraine via Belarusian territory.
Western nations have slapped Belarus with an ever-increasing list of financial sanctions in response to its efforts to aid the Russian invasion.
