Today, the Court of Appeal in Belgrade overturned the earlier decision on the extradition of filmmaker and activist Andrei Hniot to Belarus and sent the case for a new hearing to the High Administrative Court in Belgrade. In overturning the earlier decision, the court of appeal noted that not all the circumstances of the case had been properly considered. It also found a violation of Andrei Hniot and his defense’s right to appear before the court and give testimonies in person. The next hearing of the case in the court of first instance is scheduled for March 26.
Together with the annulment of the decision of the court of first instance, the court extended Andrei’s detention for another 60 days. This does not mean that he will spend the whole term in prison: in case of a decision in favor of Andrei, he will be released from custody.
Given that the Interpol Central Bureau has blocked access to Andrei’s profile, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Advisor on Legal Affairs, Kristina Rikhter, hopes for a positive outcome: “I am very grateful to the diplomatic corps of the European Union countries in Belgrade. The ambassadors of several countries responded very quickly to our lawyers’ request for assistance – and organized both negotiations at the diplomatic level and attendance at the appeal court hearing, thus expressing their solidarity with Andrei”.
The Office’s Legal Department will continue to closely follow the fate of Andrei’s case and will be in constant communication with lawyers and the diplomatic corps.
We urge Belarusians to support Andrei with letters of support. The address is: Andrei Hniot, Centralni zatvor, Bačvanska 14, 11050 Beograd (Voždovac).
