MINSK -- Over a dozen activists are facing trial at the Minsk Central District Court for participating in a protest against Russian troops' presence in Belarus, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.
The activists protested in Minsk on September 9, the same day that Russian troops started arriving in Belarus to take part in joint Belarusian-Russian military maneuvers called West 2009.
The exercises will be held later this month to train the joint armed forces to provide security for the so-called Russian-Belarus Union State.
The detainees informed their relatives on September 10 that they were held in a police station till 2:00 am, and then transferred to a detention center. The detainees said that they have been charged with hooliganism.
The activists protested in Minsk on September 9, the same day that Russian troops started arriving in Belarus to take part in joint Belarusian-Russian military maneuvers called West 2009.
The exercises will be held later this month to train the joint armed forces to provide security for the so-called Russian-Belarus Union State.
The detainees informed their relatives on September 10 that they were held in a police station till 2:00 am, and then transferred to a detention center. The detainees said that they have been charged with hooliganism.