Stanislau (Stas) Hancharou, a 20-year-old resident of the Belarusian city of Vitsebsk, has been recently detained in Minsk. The Belarusian citizen who goes by the nickname ‘Terror Machine’ was a fighter of the Ukrainian battalion ‘Azov’.
His nom-de-guerre was ‘Belarusian’. The man did not advertise himself, but he is said to have enjoyed authority among his comrades due to its bravery and uncompromising attitude.
“He may have thought that no one would recognise him in Belarus and he would not go to jail. Indeed, for four days, he had been contacting us from Belarus, but then he disappeared. A bit later he managed to inform us that he hed been ‘grabbed’ and said all information that may appear on his behalf would be provocative,” Stas’ comrades say.
If his profile in Russian social network VKontakte is anything to go by, Stas holds neo-Nazi views. 88, a digital acronym meaning ‘Heil Hitler!’ is tattooed on his chest and the emblem of Dirlewanger, a special SS battalion, – on his back. During the Second World War, members of Dirlewanger distinguished themselves by extreme cruelty when taking part in dozens of counter-insurgency operations in the territory of Belarus. The lives of thousands of Belarusians are on their conscience.
According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, the man is accused of hooliganism.
In October 2013, the attacker forced two 13-year-olds to renounce anti-fascist movement and demonstrate the Nazi salute, which was filmed and posted on the Internet, the statement on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs says.
However, a number of the arrestee’s web friends believe that the current situation is sort of provocation.
The Belarusian law enforcement agencies opened 135 criminal cases against citizens of Belarus who fought or are fighting in Donbas. President Lukashenka repeatedly said that Belarus had no plaxe for ‘militants’ who are participating in the coflict in Ukraine.
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