Ales Byalyatki begins to read materials of his criminal case

The head of Viasna Human Rights Centre has been in a detention facility for the second month.

On September 23, Byalyatski began to read materials of the criminal case opened under part 2 of article 243 of the Criminal Code (tax evasion on an especially large scale), Viasna reports.

“We can say now that investigation in Ales Byalyatski’s case had been completed. He and his lawyer have been reading materials of the case since Friday,” Viasna’s lawyer Uladzimir Labkovich says.

According to him, Ales Byalyatski may stand trial in the second half of October.

“If course, we demand the immediate release. We consider both investigation and trial to be politically motivated,” Labkovich says.

Human rights fear that there’s a high probability that Ales Byalyatski will be tried behind closed doors.