US EditionPrisoners freed by Belarus say their passports are taken away in a final 'dirty trick' by officials
Belarus freed 123 prisoners after the U.S. lifted trade sanctions; most were deported without passports to Ukraine or Lithuania, facing challenges abroad, rights groups say.
- After being imprisoned for 4.5 years, Labkovich was released from Belarus but his passport was taken away, which he called a 'dirty trick' by authorities.
- Belarus released 123 prisoners, including Labkovich and Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski, in exchange for the U.S. lifting some trade sanctions on the authoritarian government.
- Even after pardoning people, Lukashenko continues to retaliate against them by barring them from staying in Belarus and forcibly driving them out without documents, according to Tsikhanouskaya.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Human rights defender Vladimir Labkovich, suddenly released from a Belarusian prison, was taken blindfolded to neighboring Ukraine with only a piece of paper bearing his name and photo.
Associated Press News
Prisoners freed by Belarus say their passports are taken away in a final 'dirty trick' by officials
Even though Belarus has released dozens of prisoners, those who've been freed say the authoritarian government often delivers one final act of repression by confiscating their passports before deporting them.
Human rights activist Vladimir Labkovich, suddenly released from a Belarusian prison, was taken blindfolded to neighboring Ukraine with only a piece of paper bearing his name and photo. “After five and a half years of abuse in prison, I was thrown out of my country without a passport or valid documents,” Labkovich told the AP by phone from Ukraine on Wednesday.
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