Belarus tries 4 former military officers on charges of spying for Poland

Belarus tries 4 former military officers on charges of spying for Poland
The Associated PressPublished: September 4, 2007



MINSK, Belarus: Four former military officers went on trial Tuesday in tightly controlled Belarus, accused of spying for neighboring Poland, a court official said. They could be sentenced to death if convicted of treason.

The charges were announced in July, as already antagonistic relations with Poland worsened over U.S. plans to deploy part of a missile defense system in Poland, a NATO and European Union member.

Security officials in the government of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko have said the officers transported documents across the border into Poland inside the kind of fire extinguisher motorists in Belarus are required to keep in their cars.

When the arrests were announced, the deputy chief of the Belarusian KGB said Polish intelligence was eager to obtain information on Russian anti-missile defense systems in Belarus, especially long-range S-300 air defense missiles.

Belarusian authorities also said at the time that a Russian military officer was detained in Russia after confessing to the Federal Security Service, but Russian officials have not commented on the issue.

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The trial by the Belarusian Supreme Court's military branch is being held behind closed doors, court spokeswoman Anastasia Tsimanovich said. Belarus is the only European country that currently carries out the death penalty, human rights groups say.

Lukashenko, who is a pariah in the West and is described by Washington as the "last dictator in Europe," accused Poland of working against him before last year's presidential election.

He has cracked down on groups of ethnic Poles in Belarus, saying they were fomenting a pro-Western revolt in an effort to remove him from power. Last year, Minsk accused Polish diplomats of financing Belarusian opposition groups.

Stanislav Shushkevich, Belarus's first post-Soviet leader and an opponent of Lukashenko, suggested the aim of the spy accusations was to attract more financial support from Russia for the Belarusian military.

Relations between Russia and Belarus have been strained by disputes over energy prices, but they have close military ties and have both harshly criticized U.S. plans for missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, calling them a threat.