MINSK, May 19. /TASS/: The Department of Internal Security of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus initiated criminal cases over death threats and insults towards Prosecutor General Andrey Shved, the Office announced Wednesday.
"During the daily monitoring of the Internet for destructive and false information, threats and insults towards law enforcement or state employees, the Prosecutor General’s Office discovered publications with death threats and public insults towards Belarusian Prosecutor General Andrey Shved as a state official over his duties. The Department of Internal Security has initiated criminal cases," the Office said.
According to the case materials, between May 18 and 19, unidentified people made death threats towards Shved in a Telegram channel. Besides, during the same period, unidentified people "published comments […] in various Telegram chats with obscene, contemptuous and pejorative expressions, available to an unlimited number of people."
The office stated that these incidents were qualified as "threat of murder, grievous bodily harm of property damage" and "insult against a representative of the authority." Currently, identification, searches, and investigation is underway in order to bring the perpetrators to responsibility, the office said.
According to the Belarusian law, these offences carry up to three years in prison.
