Activists in Belarus may be executed

Three Belarusian activists could be executed after being charged with conducting railway sabotage in Belarus to slow down movement of Russian troops in the early phases of their invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian investigators said on Wednesday.

The men were accused of terrorism after being arrested on March 1 for setting fire to relay boxes on the railway network at night, the Belarusian Investigative Committee said.

“The men could face a maximum penalty as serious as the death penalty,” it said in a statement on its website to announce finalisation of its investigation.

Belarus, a former Soviet state, carries out executions with a single shot to the back of the head. Relatives are not informed when the penalty has been carried out and the body is not returned.

Moscow used Belarus, a close Kremlin ally, as a staging ground for its assault on Kyiv.

Minsk denies involvement in the conflict, but acknowledges its territory was used.

Dozens of acts of sabotage were carried out on the railway system from February to April to slow deployment of Russian troops and hardware in the war in Ukraine, the Belarusian authorities and opposition estimate. The effect of the sabotage on Russian troop movements was not clear.

The investigators said that a Belarusian opposition group, branded by officials in Minsk as extremist, instructed the men.

The investigation was transferred to the prosecutor’s office and will then be sent to the court for the trial, the committee said. It is unclear when that will be.

In May, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko signed his approval of a move to expand use of the death penalty in Belarus to punish attempted acts of terrorism as well.

Belarus already had the death penalty for acts of terrorism that cause loss of life, for brutal murders and multiple murders.