The Rorschach district court has acquitted an alleged member of a Belarusian special unit in a case of possible atrocities.
The man was accused of enforced disappearance and misleading the administration of justice. The judges saw contradictions in the statements.
Certain descriptions are simply absurd, argued the presiding judge in the verdict announced orally on Thursday afternoon. The facts have not been proven. It is possible that the accused wanted to have a positive influence on his asylum decision with the dramatic descriptions.
The alleged member of a Belarusian special squad was the first person to be charged with enforced disappearance in Switzerland. At the trial last week, the public prosecutor's office demanded a guilty verdict and a prison sentence of three years, one year of which was unconditional.
When applying for asylum in 2019, the 45-year-old defendant stated that he was involved in the murder of three opposition politicians on behalf of the regime of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.