{"id":187075,"date":"2026-05-11T18:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/187075\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T22:09:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:09:38","slug":"minsk-resident-jailed-awaiting-trial-for-denying-existence-of-nazi-germanys-generalplan-ost","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/187075\/","title":{"rendered":"Minsk resident awaiting trial for denying existence of Nazi Germany\u2019s Generalplan Ost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 11, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> A Minsk resident may face up to five years in prison for denying the existence of Nazi Germany\u2019s Generalplan Ost in social media comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man has been charged under Article 130-2 of the Criminal Code with denying the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Second World War, the Investigative Committee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to investigators, the suspect wrote on social media that \u201catrocities against peaceful residents, including children and women, were no more than the Nazis\u2019 reaction to the partisan movement and resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man is being held in pre-trial detention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarusian authorities have previously brought several genocide denial cases. In November 2024, one man was sentenced to three years in prison in what police described as the first such case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Belarusian courts have also convicted seven deceased Nazi war criminals of genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian government\u2019s prosecution of deceased Nazi war criminals is primarily politically motivated, according to Gundula Pohl of the Institute of History in Hagen, Germany, in an article published online in January 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt reflects the state\u2019s need to legitimize its authoritarian rule and create a new basis for national identity after the brutal suppression of peaceful civil protests in the summer of 2020,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian authorities began actively promoting the concept of genocide against the Belarusian people about five years ago. Prosecutor General Andrej \u0160vied personally contributed material to a textbook on genocide for fifth-grade students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka signed laws allowing the criminal prosecution of deceased persons and criminalizing genocide denial. A conviction for denial carries a prison sentence of up to five years, while repeat offenses are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historians and analysts say the authorities also use the genocide narrative to discredit opponents by linking their symbols to Nazi collaborators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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