Court aide who went public over Khodorkovsky verdict fired
As reported, Russian human rights activist and Head of the Committee for International Monitoring of the Human Rights Situation in Belarus, Andrei Yurov was detained last night in Belarus. The Human Rights in Russia portal reports this evening that on 17 March a decision was issued to not initiate criminal proceedings against Andrei Yury, however the human rights activist was ordered to leave Belarus within 24 hours. According to the Monitoring Committee, Yurov has been refused entry until 2013 “for interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state”.
Yurov called the events outrageous. “These actions obstruct the legitimate activities of human rights activists and violate a large number of international agreements including the UN Declaration on the work of human rights activists”.
It is understood that the Russian Embassy in Minsk did approach the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the detention of Mr Yurov.