Belarus deports Russian opposition members

Oleg Kozlovsky, the leader of the Russia-based pro-democracy group Defense and his supporters were detained on March 25 in Minsk. According to Charter'97, the Russians were detained in the morning on arrival on a train from Moscow. A total of five Russian activists were reportedly detained.

They were charged with hooliganism, held for several hours at a police station and then forced to take a return train to Moscow.

The Defense activists were invited by Belarusian youth organizations to take part in an opposition rally to mark 91 years since Belarus first gained independence. The action is planned to take place at 6 p.m. in Minsk.