Belarus deports political prisoners in 'dirty trick'

The only official document human rights advocate Uladzimir Labkovich had with him when he was suddenly released from a Belarus prison, blindfolded and driven to neighboring Ukraine was a piece of paper with his name and mugshot on it.

- YURAS KARMANAU

ULADZIMIR LABKOVICH and wife Nina arrive in Lithuania last week. Belarus withheld his passport.

(MINDAUGAS KULBIS Associated Press)

"After four and a half years of abuse in prison, I was thrown out of my own country without a passport or valid documents," Labkovich told the Associated Press by phone from Ukraine last week. "This is yet another dirty trick by the Belarusian authorities, who continue to make our lives difficult."

Labkovich, 47, was one of 123 prisoners released by Belarus on Dec. 13 in exchange for the U.S. lifting some trade sanctions on the authoritarian government of President Alexander Lukashenko. All but nine were taken to Ukraine; the rest - including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski - were driven to Lithuania.

A close ally of Russia, Lukashenko has ruled his nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades. Belarus has faced years of Western isolation and sanctions for its human rights abuses and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Recently, Lukashenko has sought better relations with the West, releasing hundreds of prisoners since July 2024.

But in a final act of indignity and repression, the newly freed prisoners often are not told they are being deported without passports or other identity papers. They must rebuild their lives abroad, facing bureaucratic obstacles without any help from their homeland.

Retaliation after release

Because he was blindfolded, Labkovich said, he and others could tell only that they were heading south. At least 18 prisoners taken to Ukraine - including opposition figures Vitkar Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova - had no documents with them, according to rights advocates. Germany has promised to provide shelter to Babaryka and Kolesnikova.