Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus has initiated a criminal case against representatives of BYPOL — the initiative involving former members of the Belarusian security forces. They are suspected of inciting social hatred, the website of the Prosecutor General’s Office says.
“The Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a criminal case against former prosecutor Aleh Talerchyk, investigator Ihar Loban and other persons, who left the country and positioned themselves as representatives of an initiative called BYPOL,” reads the statement.
Allegedly, the listed former employees of law enforcement agencies “incited the audience to hostility and discord on the basis of social identity during a videoconference to fuel confrontation in the society by their statements”.
As noted by the representatives of the initiative BYPOL in their Telegram-channel, Aleh Talerchyk and Ihar Loban “are outside Belarus”.
Prosecutors, in turn, handed over materials to the Investigative Committee of Belarus. The agency noted that investigative measures were underway.
The initiative BYPOL was created by former members of the law enforcement agencies that are in opposition to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. In their Telegram channel they publish, among other things, personal data of Belarusian law enforcement officers, taking part in the repression of peaceful protests in the country against the official results of the presidential election. BYPOL also published audio recordings of a man, whose voice is similar to that of Deputy Interior Minister Mikalai Karpenkau, when he met with Belarusian security forces. During these meetings, among other things, they discussed the creation of concentration camps for protesters and the possibility for them to be shot or be “either maimed, mutilated, or killed”.
