Anatol Lyabedzka, chairman of the United Civic Party (UCP), has filed a suit against the interior and justice ministries over the imposition of a foreign travel ban on him.
Mr. Lyabedzka demands punishment for those responsible for violating his constitutional right to freedom of movement, says the UCP press office, BelaPAN said.
"As far as I know, the constitution of Belarus has not yet been suspended, which means that everything written in it should be implemented in practice," he says. "It is necessary to fight for your rights by all means, even through our abnormal judicial system."
On March 7, Belarusian border guards did not allow Mr. Lyabedzka to cross the border into Lithuania through the Kamenny Loh checkpoint. They told him that he had been prohibited from traveling to the European Union. No explanation was given to him.
Speaking to reporters on March 1, a few days after the EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on more citizens of Belarus, Pavel Radzivonaw, a departmental head at the Prosecutor General’s Office, said that persons calling on foreign states and international organizations to impose economic and other sanctions against Belarus might be subjected to a temporary ban on foreign travel and even to criminal prosecution.
A large number of people, including opposition politicians, journalists and human rights defenders, have been barred from traveling abroad since then.
In an interview with a Russian TV channel last week, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that some opposition figures were under a travel ban because they instigated the West to use sanctions against Belarus. He warned that more names would be added to the travel ban list.
