Lithuania - August 2023

Prominent Belarusian activist Olga Karach has said she was denied asylum by Lithuanian authorities, who claimed Karach poses a threat to Lithuanian national security. Karach leads Our House (Nash Dom), a Belarusian human rights NGO, founded in Belarus in 2002 but relocated to Lithuania in 2014. The NGO has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for its support to Belarusians living in Lithuania and across Europe. In its decision, the Migration Department cited allegations by Lithuania’s State Security Department (Valstybės saugumo departamentas, VSD) that Karach has ties to Russian intelligence services - allegations which Karach has denied. Belarus has considered Karach a terrorist since September 2021 and has declared Nash Dom an extremist organisation. Karach has filed a complaint with the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court for lengthy processing of her asylum request in violation of her rights. Lithuanian law requires asylum requests to be processed at the latest within six months of submission, while her case took almost a year.

Sources: LRT (1), LRT (2), LRT (3), LRT (4), Baltic Times, Our House