Court in Belarus sentences activists for attempted sabotage of Russian military plane

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MOSCOW (Reuters) – A court in Minsk sentenced a dozen individuals to prison terms of between two and 25 years on Friday for helping commit what Belarus has called an “act of terrorism” at a military airfield outside the capital last year.

A group of Belarusian anti-government activists said in February 2023 that they had blown up a sophisticated Russian military surveillance aircraft in a drone attack at the base.

Russia and Belarus dismissed the assertion as fake, with Belarusian state television publishing footage showing what it said was the undamaged Beriev A-50 surveillance craft.

About a week later, Minsk said it had detained a “terrorist” and more than 20 accomplices over attempted sabotage at the airfield.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, alleged at the time that Ukrainian security services and the U.S. Central Intelligence agency were behind the operation. He said the aircraft had suffered only superficial damage in the attack, which was carried out using a “small drone”, the Belta news agency reported.

On Friday, Belarus’ General Prosecutor’s office said the Minsk City Court had sentenced 12 individuals after finding them guilty of terrorism, extremism and other serious crimes.

The main defendant, Ukrainian national Nikolai Shvets, was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison. Shvets, who gave an interview to Belarusian state television last April in which he detailed how he planned the attack, was released in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine in June, according to Belarusian rights group Viasna.

It was not clear how many of the others were sentenced in absentia.