Anatol Lyabedzka detained on Belarusian-Lithuanian border

Anatol Lyabedzka, the head of the United Civil Party (UCP), has been detained at Katlouka checkpoint on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.

According to the politician, the first attempt to cross the border with the passport, recently returned by the KGB, was not successful:

"I made an attempt to cross the border as an ordinary citizen. I cannot say the attempt was successful. I am not on the blacklist for sure, but when border guards saw my name, they did not believe their eyes and went away to consult. Then they took me out of the queue, carried out a search and ordered to fill in the declaration. Then they thoroughly searched my car and bags."

Anatol Lyabedzka has been at the border checkpoint for some hours, Radio Racyja reports. "I've faced such situations many times before. Border guards use blacklists again. Besides being a time waste, it’s very unpleasant. Citizens of Russia and Lithuania cross the border, but Belarusians cannot cross their country's border freely, as if they belonged to a lower caste," Anatol Lyabedzka complains.