August 28, Pozirk. A Belarusian national denied asylum by the Swedish Migration Agency was arrested in a politically-motivated case upon his return to Belarus, Sveriges Radio reports.
The man and his mother requested asylum in Sweden two years ago, citing criminal persecution in Belarus for participation in 2020 postelection protests in Belarus.
Last week, both were reportedly deported from Sweden to Belarus even though their asylum requests were denied in 2023. The man was arrested at the border, while the whereabouts of his mother remain unknown.
Until recently, migration authorities used to evaluate Belarusian asylum seekers’ applications based on outdated information, despite available new data on reprisals proving the intensification of politically-motivated crackdown targeting 2020 protesters, according to migration lawyer Stefan Krstic.
Last year, more than 100 Belarusians requested asylum in Sweden, yet only three were granted their requests, Dźmitryj Vasserman, a Belarusian community activist, said earlier this month. Not all of them were deported, as some appealed the decisions, while others chose to leave Sweden, he added.
While acknowledging Sweden’s support of the Belarusian pro-democracy movement, the activist noted its “extremely restrictive” migration policies and the impossibility of lobbying for the interests of Belarusian asylum seekers.
