Let $X$ be a countable discrete Abelian group containing no elements of order 2, $α$ be an automorphism of $X$, $ξ_1$ and $ξ_2$ be independent random variables with values in the group $X$ and distributions $μ_1$ and $μ_2$. The main result of the article is the following statement. The symmetry of the conditional distribution of the linear form $L_2 = ξ_1 + αξ_2$ given $L_1 = ξ_1 + ξ_2$ implies that $μ_j$ are shifts of the Haar distribution of a finite subgroup of $X$ if and only if the automorphism $α$ satisfies the condition ${\rm Ker}(I+α)=\{0\}$. This theorem is an analogue for discrete Abelian groups the well-known Heyde theorem where Gaussian distribution on the real line is characterized by the symmetry of the conditional distribution of one linear form of independent random variables given another. We also prove some generalisations of this theorem.