Prosecutor General Andrei Shved held a meeting with students and staff of BSUIR in the format of an open dialogue

On September 29, 2021, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved met with the faculty and students of the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics (hereinafter - BSUIR).

The meeting was held in the format of an open dialogue.

Starting the event, Andrei Shved thanked the rector of BSUIR Vadim Bogush for the continuing and productive cooperation.

In his report, the Prosecutor General made a detailed historical excursion into the events of the Great Patriotic War, drew parallels with today’s events, urged to think and objectively assess the socio-political and socio-economic situation in the Republic of Belarus and beyond.

In his speech, Andrei Shved appealed to archival documents, materials of the Nuremberg trials and the established facts of the investigation of the criminal case of genocide.

The Head of the supervisory body noted that he was ready for a frank and substantive conversation, willing to answer all questions, to hear and take into account the opinion of everyone.

During the meeting, a lot of topics were discussed: from the problems of combating corruption, anti-COVID restrictions on traveling abroad to activities for conscription and the regulation of weapons circulation among the population. “In the near future, the requirements for the legal circulation of weapons will be toughened, the list of grounds for refusing permission to acquire and store civilian weapons will be expanded,” said Andrei Shved.

As for the procedure for conscription, Andrei Shved noted: “Every year the Head of State issues a decree and, if there are strong reasons, specific individuals are exempted from serving in the Armed Forces.”

Talking about the experience of Belarus in the fight against crimes and offenses of officials, the Prosecutor General stressed that the country has taken measures to strengthen the responsibility of officials for such acts. The experience of foreign countries is being studied concerning checking the ways of acquiring property that is not confirmed by official sources of income, and then seizing it by virtue of a court decision, if the value of assets is incommensurate with the income of citizens.

During the meeting, attention was paid to the topics of public safety, overcoming fake information, responsibility for the dissemination of personal data and information of an extremist nature, insults on the Internet, the use of Telegram and Viber messengers, social networks for destructive purposes. “These insults and libel that we all experienced recently are elements of hybrid war. This is where it all starts... There is only one approach here – every fact should not be left without response. The bodies of the Public Prosecution, the MIA and the KGB monitor the Internet on a twenty-four-hour basis. I want you to know this. Let me remind you once again that criminal cases are initiated on each fact of insults, threats and slander. The number of crimes in this area is increasing: about 1,700 criminal cases of this category have been initiated.”

Answering the question about the most resonant criminal case, which is now being investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office, Andrei Shved spoke about the already established facts of atrocities of the fascist punishers and their accomplices. As noted, this is the largest-scale criminal case in the history of modern Belarus, in which prosecutors of all levels, investigators, experts and scientists are involved. And, first of all, this is a case aimed at the restoration and preservation of historical justice, paying of a debt to those who died by hands of the Nazis and their henchmen.

The topic of student safety was touched upon. “Additional measures are envisaged, for example, a stage-by-stage equipping of educational institutions with appropriate technical means. This includes video surveillance, control system for managing entrance into buildings, and their transfer under the protection of the Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Andrei Ivanovich informed.

At the end of the meeting, the rector of BSUIR Vadim Bogush thanked the Prosecutor General for the informative and meaningful dialogue, expressed gratitude for the constant interaction and legal enlightenment, especially among young people.

Within the framework of the event, Andrei Shved talked with representatives of the mass media.

The journalists’ questions related to the investigation of the criminal case of genocide, the establishment of new facts of atrocities, the emergency situation associated with the murder of a KGB officer in the line of duty, ignorance by a number of foreign states of their international obligations in the field of cooperation in criminal matters.

The Prosecutor General explained that such meetings with prosecutors throughout the country have become traditional: “We communicate with the working community and students in order to prevent possible violations of public order. This is very important in the context of an information attack that has been going on for several months from the sideline of foreign states and special services. We are obliged to tell people the truth, to inform about the true state of affairs in order to stop all negative phenomena.”

After the event, Andrei Shved held a personal consultations of citizens, where applicants could ask their questions individually. 

Photo: Prosecutor General’s Office

Department for Interaction with Mass Media
 and Editorial Work of the Prosecutor General’s Office