Two Belarusians received five years for donations to the Kalinovsky regiment
January 31, 2024
The Minsk City Court sentenced two men to five years in prison each for transferring money to the Kastus Kalinovsky regiment, a Belarusian voluntary association that fights as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, helping to defend Ukraine from Russian aggression. The verdicts were announced on Tuesday, January 30, by the Belarusian human rights center “Viasna”.
One of those convicted is Georgy Cherevako, 55, who was detained in August 2023 upon returning to Belarus from the United States, where he traveled for a month. Cherevako admitted to law enforcement officials in Belarus that he subscribed to “extremist” Telegram channels and also that he made a donation to Kalinovsky’s regiment. Cherevako made a transfer of 21.29 US dollars (about 20 euros) from his PayPal account. The court described this as deliberate actions “for the purpose of financing recruitment, training and other preparation activities” of people for an armed conflict in Ukraine.
The second convict is Alexey Shvetsov. His age and the circumstances of his arrest were not disclosed. According to Belarusian human rights activists, Shvetsov made two transfers to the account of Kalinovsky’s regiment, also via PayPal, in the amount of 38.3 Belarusian rubles (13.63 euros) and 95 rubles (35 euros). Therefore, he was found guilty under the same article 361-3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (“financing activities for participation in an armed formation or in armed conflicts on the territory of a foreign state”).
Cherevako’s sentence was pronounced on December 8, Shvetsov’s sentence on December 26, but only now it became known about them.
Source: DW
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