BERASTSE, Belarus -- A judge in western Belarus has sent a criminal case against a local human rights defender back to police for additional investigation, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.
The activist, Raman Kislyak, was arrested on October 16 during a one-man march in support of Ales Byalyatski, the chairman of the Vyasna (Spring) human rights center, who was arrested in August and charged with tax evasion in a case that drew widespread international condemnation.
Kislyak marched down Berastse's Cosmonauts Boulevard with a megaphone informing passersby about Byalyatski's arrest and condemning the charges against him as politically motivated. Police arrested him around 6 p.m. and kept him in custody overnight.
Kislyak left the courtroom in the city of Berastse a free man following the judge's decision on October 17.
Kislyak told RFE/RL the investigators and prosecution were not able to demonstrate clearly which article of the law on public gatherings he had violated.
In addition, Kislyak said, there was a discrepancy in the indictment, which claimed variously that he had staged a picket and held an illegal march.
Kislyak was informed by the court he would be summoned again once the additional investigation was completed.
Read more in Belarusian here
The activist, Raman Kislyak, was arrested on October 16 during a one-man march in support of Ales Byalyatski, the chairman of the Vyasna (Spring) human rights center, who was arrested in August and charged with tax evasion in a case that drew widespread international condemnation.
Kislyak marched down Berastse's Cosmonauts Boulevard with a megaphone informing passersby about Byalyatski's arrest and condemning the charges against him as politically motivated. Police arrested him around 6 p.m. and kept him in custody overnight.
Kislyak left the courtroom in the city of Berastse a free man following the judge's decision on October 17.
Kislyak told RFE/RL the investigators and prosecution were not able to demonstrate clearly which article of the law on public gatherings he had violated.
In addition, Kislyak said, there was a discrepancy in the indictment, which claimed variously that he had staged a picket and held an illegal march.
Kislyak was informed by the court he would be summoned again once the additional investigation was completed.
Read more in Belarusian here
