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Bomb explosion near KGB office in Vitsyebsk classified as act of «especially malicious hooliganism»

Criminal proceedings have been instituted in connection with an explosion near the KGB office in Vitsyebsk under Part Three of the Criminal Code's Article 339, which penalizes "especially malicious hooliganism," according to the KGB press office.

The offense carries prison sentences of between three and 10 years.

There were fears that the explosion would be classified as an act of terrorism and used for a new crackdown on government opponents. Recent amendments to regulations against terrorism and extremism provide for a much looser definition of the term "terrorism."

A small bomb exploded near the regional office of the KGB in Vitsyebsk on Sunday evening.

The "primitive homemade pyrotechnic device" went off at 6:48 p.m., breaking the glass of two windows, KGB spokesman Alyaksandr Antanovich earlier told BelaPAN. Three people have been arrested in connection with the blast based on findings of the investigation and eyewitness accounts, Mr. Antanovich said. One of them, a person with visible signs of a mental illness, had earlier phoned the KGB office and made offensive statements about Belarusian authorities, he said.

According to preliminary estimates, the pyrotechnic device was hidden inside a metal can of between 0.25 and 0.33 liters and consisted of a cardboard or plastic tube packed with between 50 and 70 grams of a pyrotechnic mixture. The bomb did not contain nails, metal balls or any other dangerous objects. The perpetrators set the bomb on fire to detonate it. //BelaPAN