Authorities planning to make entrepreneurs’ trial closed, says Aleh Volchak

The authorities are doing their best to make the trial of the three Vaukavyssk entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Liavonau and Uladzimir Asipenka a closed one, said lawyer and ex-investigator Aleh Volchak during a press-conference on 28 July in Minsk.
‘With the preliminary investigation being carried out in secret, with the lawyers having been forced to sign a pledge of secrecy, I suppose that the trial will be a closed one. This is what their tactics are about,’ said Mr.Volchak.
He explained that under the existing legislation the trial can be closed in a number of cases, including the protection of state secrets, prosecution of minors, sexual crimes, slander, as well as for the security of the participants of the trial. ‘As we can see, the list is quite a vague one. Anything can be attributed to it, especially the cases of ‘protecting the security of the participants of the trial,’ said the lawyer.
Aleh Volchak thinks the case will not reach court in the near future, since the case materials occupy ‘tens of thousands of pages.’ ‘It means that it will take at least a month for the defendants to familiarize themselves with the materials of the case,’ said Mr.Volchak.