40 police officers attend beat cop's trial in Belarus (photo)

On 12 June, over 40 police officers in Kobryn, western Belarus came to the trial of local beat officer Siarhei Kulishou. The photo from the courtroom was posted by Brest blogger Siarhei Piatrukhin. He writes that the officer is being tried on charges of power abuse. The policeman reportedly broke a villager's leg. Those present at the hearing included the victim Anatol Hlytsuk, witness Piotr Shymanski, independent journalist Tamara Shchapiotkina and dozens police officers who occupied almost all the vacant seats.

According to Piatrukhin, the head of the Kobryn district police department told the judge the whole police force was on trial - not just one beat cop.