The Supreme Court of Belarus has begun to consider the case of the Khatyn executioner Konstantin Smovsky.
On the eve of the meeting, the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office, Svyatoslav Velykiy, reported that this person is accused of 26 episodes of criminal activity.
The essence of the charges is 26 episodes of criminal activity classified as genocide of the Belarusian people, Belta quotes a representative of the supervisory agency.
The prosecutor specified that the crimes were committed by police officers from the 118th security battalion.
On March 18, 2024, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus issued a guilty verdict against Katryuk, who distinguished himself with particular atrocities as part of this battalion.
As for Smovsky, according to available information, he led the aforementioned battalion practically from the moment of its creation.
The Great clarified: the defendant carried out management functions under the supervision of an SS officer.
After the defeat of the fascists, he lived for some time in Germany, then moved to the USA.
These countries chose not to be interested in this man’s bloody past, the prosecutor emphasized.
According to his data, Smovsky was active in the field of public activity there and occupied a rather prominent position in “nationalist Ukrainian émigré circles.”
Velikiy added that during the investigation conducted by the prosecutor's office, evidence was obtained of the defendant's personal involvement in all 26 episodes of criminal activity.
This case contains 49 volumes. The court will evaluate the collected evidence.
For reference
Khatyn is a destroyed village in the Logoisk district of the Minsk region of Belarus, burned to the ground along with its inhabitants by a punitive detachment in March 1943.