Brest: verdict to Vital Koush abolished

The decision was taken by the panel of judges of Brest Regional Court on criminal cases, which considered the cassation appeal of the activist who had been sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment.

Viktal Koush was charged with helping the illegal migration of 8 Indian nationals to Poland. Mr. Koush pleaded innocent. The Indians were deported and prohibited to enter Belarus after it. Only their written testimonies, given during the detention at the detention center of Brest border service were read at the trial. The solicitations of the defender for summoning Indian citizens to the trial were rejected.

At the same time, it is impossible to verify these testimonies. Moreover, after returning home the Indian national recorded a video address from which it follows that they had been forced to testify against the people they hadn't been acquainted with.

According to human rights defender Raman Kislyak, the presumption of innocence was violated during the trial over Vital Koush at Brest District Court, and the defendant was factually denied justice. The human rights defender pointed that civil activist Vital Koush had taken part in a number of political campaign in Brest. In particular, he was detained as a participant of an action of solidarity with political prisoners and participated in the presidential election of 2010 as an independent observer. That's why his prosecution can be a consequence of his active civil position.