A court in Belarus's eastern region of Mahilyou has sentenced a man to 11 years in prison on charges of joining a group involved in damaging railways to disrupt the supply of Russian arms and troops to Ukraine.
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The Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center said on October 13 that the Mahilyou regional court handed down Alyaksey Shyshkavets' sentence a day earlier.
Shyshkavets was arrested in March. He was found guilty of assisting an extremist group by creating an online chatbot to recruit members to commit unlawful acts in Belarus, according to the court.
Shyshkavets was among some 60 men and women arrested for their alleged involvement in damaging Belarus's railways to impede the progress of Russian troops and arms into Ukraine since the start of Moscow's invasion of its neighbor in late February.
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 "railway guerillas" have been handed lengthy prison terms in recent months. The other cases are still being investigated.
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 nations have slapped Belarus with an ever-increasing list of financial sanctions in response to its efforts to aid the Russian invasion.