Four people were arrested in Ufa on suspicion of a terrorist attack on the railway

The Soviet district court of Ufa arrested four local residents for two months. One of them is an underage teenager. According to the investigation, they set fire to the relay box on the railway. They are accused of preparing a terrorist act and committing it.

As a result of the arson, the investigators claim, the equipment was completely destroyed. The alleged motive of the crime in the criminal case was called “destabilization of the activity of the authorities.”

“Interfax” reports that this is not the first such case in Bashkiria. Last fall, four young men were arrested in Ufa (three were 18, one was 17), accused of setting fire to railway facilities between October 18 and 25. They are charged with the same articles.

• After the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cases of intentional damage to railway equipment became more frequent in Russia. Presumably, the so-called “rail partisans” are trying to prevent the transfer of manpower and equipment to Ukraine. The same cases were recorded in the annexed Crimea and Belarus. Russian investigative bodies qualify these cases as acts of terrorism.
• Also, in 2022 and early 2023, reports of arson of military enlistment offices and buildings of local administrations regularly came from the regions of Russia. There were no deaths or injuries, and the damage caused was, as a rule, small. Nevertheless, they are also considered acts of terrorism – this crime is punishable by long terms of imprisonment, up to life imprisonment.