Human rights activists from Russia and Ukraine not allowed in Belarus

Human rights activists from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee were detained at the airport in Minsk in early hours of June 15.

Russian national Inna Sangazhiyeva and Ukrainian national Olga Shamshur were flying from Frankfurt to Minsk with a private visit. Border guards found their names on the list of persons undesirable in the country. The human rights activists got stamps “entry denied” in their passports, Viasna Human Rights Centre reports.

Asked why entry was denied, a border guard gave a short answer: “Perhaps, you did something illegal, so you were included in the list.”

Inna Sangazhiyeva and Olga Shamshur were convoyed to flights to Frankfurt and Vienna on that very night.