A court in the eastern Belarusian city of Vitsebsk has sentenced a man to 15 years in prison on charges of damaging railways to disrupt the supply of Russian arms and troops to war-torn Ukraine.
The Vitsebsk regional court sentenced Syarhey Kanavalau on September 16 after finding him guilty during a closed-door hearing of preparing and implementing an act of terrorism and premeditated acts to incite ethnic and social hatred.
The Interior Ministry said earlier that Kanavalau, who worked at the railway system's security unit in Vitsebsk, was suspected of planning to damage a system that ensures the safety of railway traffic.
Kanavalau, who has been declared a political prisoner by human rights organizations in Belarus, is one of an estimated 60 activists arrested for their alleged involvement in damaging railways to impede the progress of Russian troops and arms headed to Ukraine as part of Moscow's unprovoked invasion.
The other cases are still being investigated.
The campaign called "railway war" was initiated in Belarus by a group called BYPOL. Those involved in the campaign have been nicknamed "railway guerrillas."
Belarus is not a direct participant in the war in Ukraine, but it has provided logistical support to Russia for the invasion by allowing Russian forces to enter Ukraine via Belarusian territory.
Western countries have slapped Belarus with an ever-increasing list of financial sanctions in response to its efforts to aid the Russian invasion.
