Belarus to deport US national accused of entering country illegally on an empty train
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/04/2025 (249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus said Tuesday it will deport an American who is alleged to have illegally traveled into the tightly controlled country in an empty railway car from neighboring Lithuania.
Belarus’ Customs Committee said that the unidentified 27-year-old male was found Monday during an inspection of the train in Maladzyechna, 80 kilometers (49 miles) northwest of the capital, Minsk.
Customs inspectors handed him over to the Border Guards Committee, which said in Tuesday’s statement that the man had previously tried to cross into Belarus on two occasions on March 24, but had been denied entry because he couldn’t prove he had enough cash to cover his travel expenses.
While illegal crossing of the border could carry criminal charges punishable by a prison term in Belarus, the committee said the man will be deported back to Lithuania.
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans against traveling to Belarus, citing “Belarusian authorities’ arbitrary enforcement of local laws and the risk of detention, continued facilitation of Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the heightened volatility and unpredictable nature of the regional security environment.”
Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was sworn in for a seventh term earlier this month, has ruled for more than three decades, stifling dissent and free speech. Authorities responded to massive protests triggered by the 2020 presidential vote with a crackdown that saw over 65,000 people arrested, thousands beaten by police and independent media outlets and nongovernmental organizations closed and outlawed, bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West.
Belarus recently released some political prisoners, including several U.S. citizens in what some observers saw as an attempt by Lukashenko to try to mend ties with the West.