Investigative Committee takes over investigation of "riot case"

The Investigative Committee of Belarus has taken over the investigation of the criminal case against more than a dozen people who were originally apprehended on a charge of preparing for a riot following Alyaksandr Lukashenka's remarks about the arrest of foreign-trained militants.

As Syarhey Kabakovich, spokesman for the Investigative Committee, told BelaPAN, the people are now under investigation on a charge of forming an illegal armed unit. The Committee for State Security (KGB) dropped the charge of preparations for a riot against them before handing over the investigation to the Investigative Committee.

Some 30 suspects were arrested in the case this past spring. Many of them were later released one by one on their own recognizance and all charges against at least nine were dropped, but 14 continue to be held in custody. All of those in detention are former members of White Legion or were connected with the now-defunct organization, which is described by the government-controlled media as an extremist nationalist group.

Suspects in the case started to be arrested after Alyaksandr Lukashenka revealed on March 21 that in the past few hours "we have apprehended a couple of dozens of militants who were preparing an armed provocation."

Three days later the Belarusian leader said that those arrested on suspicion of training and preparing for a riot had dug holes in forests "like partisans" to hide "weapons, iron bars, axes, knives, grenades and other things," and pretended to teach children patriotism.

State media outlets reported in late March with reference to a KGB source that the KGB had conducted 29 searches of the homes of suspects, seizing a Kalashnikov assault rifle, three carbines, two pistols, rounds of ammunition, hand grenades, clubs and telescopic truncheons, knives, axes, components and substances for making explosive devices, military uniform, bulletproof vests, helmets, NATO military first-aid kits, urban combat manuals and flags and various items bearing the emblems of volunteer military units fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The arrested White Legion members were in fact "professionally trained militants aged 25 to 43" who planned to use the seized weapons during a protest scheduled to be held in Minsk on March 25, the KGB source was quoted as saying.