Marieluise Beck and Emanuelis Zingeris are not allowed to enter Belarus

(updated) Belarus denies visas to prominent politicians and observers from the OSCE PA.

"Two parliament members from Germany and Lithuania who planned to observe the elections were told they would be denied visas" by the Belarussian foreign ministry, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly said.

Visa denials to European lawmakers from international observer missions are extremely rare, and the last time Minsk barred foreign observers was in 2006, said spokesman for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Neil Simon.

Two banned observers are Marieluise Beck from Germany and Emanuelis Zingeris from Lithuania.

Information about refusal of a visa was spread today by Matteo Mecacci, the coordinator of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly short-term election observation mission in Belarus.

The Belarusian MFA refused to issue visas to two parliamentarians from Germany and Lithuania, who planned to observe the “parliamentary election” in Belarus, Radio Svaboda reports.

”I am disappointed to hear that two members of our delegation were not allowed to enter Belarus to observe the upcoming parliamentary elections. I hope to receive an exhaustive explanation on this issue from the authorities to make sure that the atmosphere for the upcoming Election Observation Mission will remain calm and so that our work can continue without restrictions or limitations, as stated in our invitation to observe the elections,” Mecacci said in a statement.