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Man suspected of killing Belarusian wife released from custody in Netherlands

The Dutch man suspected of killing a 26-year-old Belarusian woman, his wife, was released from pretrial custody, according to Dutch media.

A Dutch forensic institute failed to establish the cause of the woman's death and it was decided to invite German and US experts to take part in the examination, which may now take up to 12 months.

Thirty-seven-year-old Robert Jan Breukel is denying his guilt. He had been held in custody this past February.

The man is facing no restrictions on movements and may travel abroad, but he is still the major suspect in the case.

The body of 26-year-old Katsyaryna Khanyak, who had been missing since April 2007, was found in February in a building in Baarle-Nassau at the Belgian-Dutch border.

The woman had lived there together with her husband and daughter. The body was discovered in a box cemented just under the bed of the small girl, Nicole.

In July, relatives in Minsk complained to the Maskowski district police department that they had not heard of the woman for months. The police called Interpol in the investigation of the disappearance.

Local media say that the Belarusian woman arrived in Antwerp to work in a brothel and Mr. Breukel was a client of her. Relatives of the woman claim that she went to Belgium on vacation. //BelaPAN