Belarus to deport US national accused of entering country illegally on an empty train

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.

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press