BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/11/2006

Leader of Belarusian opposition Alexander Milinkevich faces prosecution

MINSK, November 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Alexander Milinkevich, leader of the joint democratic forces in Belarus and ex-presidential candidate, has been accused of intentional illegal crossing of the Belarusian state border and carrying a false passport.

"Milinkevich did not produce his own passport deliberately. If he wanted to provoke a scandal he failed," Chairman of the Belarusian State Committee of Border Guard Troops Alexander Pavlovsky told journalists on Thursday.

Pavlovsky commented on an incident at Minsk airport, where Milinkevich arrived on a flight from Riga on Wednesday. When Milinkevich was passing border guard control it was established that he had crossed into Latvia to attend the NATO summit in Riga, using the passport of his son, also Alexander Milinkevich, that had neither visa, nor a border-crossing stamp, Pavlovsky said..

On the way back from Riga to Minsk Milinekevich was detained. After the formalities were observed Milinkevich was allowed to cross the state border and return back home, but documents o the administrative violation were filled in and sent to a Minsk district court.

Under the Code on administrative violations Milinkevich faces either a fine or punishment in the form of corrective labor for a term up to two months.

Source:

http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11038879&PageNum=0

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