Bio

Uladzislau Kavalyou was born and raised in Vitebsk. He grew up with his single mother.

He moved to Minsk in 2010 and got a job there. In April 2011 his friend Dzmitry Kanavalau came to Minsk to meet a girl he had met online. Kanavalau worked at a tractor factory in Vitebsk. Kanavalau rented an apartment in Minsk between April 10 and 13, 2011, which Kavalyou shared with him for those three days.

Murder Story

On 11 April 2011 a bomb exploded in the Minsk Metro at Kastryčnickaja station. The blast happened during evening rush hour. Fifteen people were killed and 315 were injured. The cause of the explosion was later found to be a bomb. The Prosecution Office opened a criminal investigation and classified the event as a terrorist attack.

Police and security services investigated the scene and collected evidence. Investigators said the device contained metal fragments. Fingerprint evidence linked the device to an earlier bombing in 2008. Authorities released a facial composite of a suspect and detained several people for spreading rumors about the attack.

Two men were arrested on 13 April 2011. They were identified as Dzmitry Kanavalau and Uladzislau Kavalyou. Both men confessed to involvement in the bombing during the investigation. The motives remained unclear in public statements.

The trial began in September 2011. In November 2011 both Kavalyou and Kanavalau were found guilty. The court sentenced them to death. Belarus carried out the sentences by shooting in early March 2012. The exact time and place of the executions were kept secret. Kavalyou’s mother was informed in mid March 2012 that the execution had been carried out.

The investigation and trial drew international attention and criticism. The European Union and other bodies questioned the conduct of the investigation and the fairness of the trial. The UN Security Council issued a statement calling the incident an "apparent terrorist attack." Some diplomats and observers raised doubts about the official account.

Many countries and international organizations expressed condolences and offered assistance after the bombing. Medical teams and experts from several countries assisted Belarusian authorities. Domestic officials declared a national day of mourning and took measures such as installing metal detectors in metro stations.

Belarusian leaders described the operation to catch the perpetrators as successful. They said the arrests and confessions showed the case had been solved. Human rights groups and some foreign governments continued to call for more transparency about the investigation, the trial, and the executions.