Polish human rights activists expelled from Belarus

Polish coordinators of the international project “Dialogs with Neighbours” had to leave Belarus before time, because their visas had been cancelled.

According to BelaPAN, a seminar for schoolchildren and students in the frames of German-Polish-Belarusian project “Dialogs with Neighbours” was held in Gomel 21-25 November. The polish part was represented by members of public association ”Drumla.” Their tourist visas were valid till November, 25. But as BelaPAN has learnt from Belarusian coordinator of the project, activist of the republican public youth association Civil Forum Piotr Kuznyatsou, on November, 23 the department of citizenship and migration all of a sudden cancelled visas of three polish participants.

According to P. Kuznyatsou, policemen visited the private apartment, where the Poles sojourned at during their visit to Gomel. The policemen asked them to come to the department of citizenship and migration to register. “Of course, the foreigners, agreed. But in the department their passports were taken away, they were offered to come for documents at 4 p.m. When the Poles came the department at the appointed time, they were said term of validity of their visas had been reduced till November, 23. Poles were ordered to leave the Republic of Belarus till 12.00 a.m., because purposes of their visit didn’t correspond the purposes pointed in visas. The Poles knew at the railway station that they couldn’t leave for Poland or at least for Ukraine at the nearest time. Train for Kyiv departed only at 2 a.m. It’s luck that policemen allowed the Poles leave for Kyiv at night,” P. Kuznyatsou said.

According to him, the Polish participants “were shocked of the events.”