Watchdog

Russian Border Services Chief Vladimir Pronichev has announced that Belarusian citizens barred from leaving the country will not be allowed to use Russian territory for travelling to other countries.

Any Belarusian citizen, who is not allowed to leave his country will be stopped both by Belarusian and Russian border guards on the countries' borders, Pronichev said on April 6.

Several opposition leaders and activists had to use Russian territory to travel to Europe in March after they were barred from leaving their country for the European Union.

The travel ban was imposed by Minsk authorities after Belarus-EU relations worsened last month as the European Union expanded sanctions against figures in the regime of authoritarian Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Minsk responded by asking the EU's ambassador to Belarus and Poland's ambassador to leave the country.

With reporting by BelaPAN

Prosecutors in the Russian Siberian city of Irkutsk have announced an investigation after a man who was in police custody was later found in the street with serious injuries.

Prosecutors said on April 5 there was evidence suggesting the man, who is now in a coma, was beaten by two other detainees who were later freed by police.

The beating victim was found unconscious in the street.

Prosecutors say they are probing whether police attempted to cover up the March 30 incident.

On April 4, it was announced that three Moscow police were expected to face trial for allegedly using a gas mask to torture a female murder suspect last year.

The woman survived.

Russian police have been facing increased scrutiny after the death of a man in custody in Kazan last month.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Interfax