BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/10/2010

Foreign Experts To Probe Belarusian Journalist's Death

MINSK -- Swedish and Norwegian experts have arrived in Minsk to examine documents related to the disputed death of independent Belarusian journalist Aleh Byabenin, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

The experts were sent by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). OSCE press service representative Frane Maroevic told RFE/RL that they will visit the Minsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office on October 26 to start assessing materials connected with Byabenin's death.

Byabenin was a well-known independent journalist and cofounder of the human rights defenders' website Charter 97. He was found hanged in his summer house on September 3.

Although the official autopsy report said no traces of violence were found on Byabenin's body, his relatives and friends say his hip was dislocated, and there were several unusual dark spots and a scratch on his body.

The experts arrival comes after the Belarusian government accepted an offer from the OSCE Secretary-General's Office to send two forensic and criminal investigation experts to Minsk to become acquainted with the case.

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/content/Foreign_Experts_To_Probe_Belarusian_Journalists_Death_/2201171.html