Ex-defendant in ‘White Legion case’ charged with weapon possession

Andrei Bialiauski, who earlier faced charges in so-called ‘White Legion case’, has been formally accused of storing a cartridge (Part 2 of Art. 295 of the Criminal Code — Illegal manufacturing, purchase, transfer, possession, sale, storage, transportation, or carrying of firearms, ammunition, explosives, etc.). Bialiauski told this on December 12, shortly after another interrogation at the Investigative Committee.

If found guilty, he may be imprisoned for up to seven years.

During today’s questioning, Bialiauski filed a request to close the case due to the ‘legal insignificance’ of the offence and absence of public danger in it.

Given these circumstances and the possible legal consequences, human rights activist Valiantsin Stefanovich called, in a comment on the criminal charges against Andrei Bialiauski, on the Investigative Committee to be consistent and to demonstrate legal logic.

“The Investigative Committee, which has stopped the prosecution of defendants in the case, found during the preliminary investigation that 'the actions of the defendants in the case of so-called ‘White Legion’ formally contain signs of creating an illegal armed formation, but the actions of the accused were not aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order or territorial integrity of the state, as well as to perform any other illegal actions'. They also said that the acts did not pose a public danger inherent in the crime, as they did not cause substantial harm to the interests of the public and social relationships, and therefore, with a view of the above, in accordance with Part 4, Art. 11 of the Criminal Code, shoould be considered insignificant,” he said.

Designer Andrei Bialiauski was arrested on March 21 and charged under Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code (Training and preparation for participation in mass disorders) and Art. 287 of the Criminal Code (creation of an illegal armed group). Bialiauski was released from the KGB jail on June 2 and cleared of all the charges under Art. 287 Criminal Code.