Possible Lukashenko Aide in St. Gallen Acquitted
Published: Thursday, Sep 28th 2023, 16:39
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The Kreisgericht Rorschach court in St. Gallen acquitted a 45-year-old Belarusian man accused of being a member of a special unit of the Belarusian government and of committing atrocities. The court found that the man's statements were contradictory and some were simply absurd. The judge noted that the man had tried to make his statements more credible by adding details, but that he was unable to answer simple questions about the organisation and structure of the special unit. The judge concluded that it was possible that the man had been part of the unit, but that it was not proven that he had been involved in the alleged crimes. The court also acquitted the man of charges of misleading the justice system, which the prosecution had sought a nine-month suspended sentence for. The judge noted that it was possible that the man had exaggerated his story in order to influence his asylum decision, but that this was not proven. The prosecution had sought a three-year sentence, one year of which would have been served in prison. Two daughters of opposition politicians who had disappeared in Belarus had also applied for compensation of 200,000 Swiss francs each, but the court referred them to the civil court. The trial was attended by representatives of the media and human rights organisations from both Switzerland and abroad.
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