Łukašenka keeps threatening émigré opposition with criminal persecution

January 7, BPN. “Those who have fled Belarus today are turning to us by the thousands to be allowed back home,” Alaksandr Łukašenka claimed on January 7 as he visited Minsk’s St. Elisabeth Orthodox convent, whose leaders are widely criticized for advancing the Russian imperial agenda.

“We didn’t expel anyone from Belarus,” Łukašenka’s press office quoted him as saying. “It’s their land as well as ours. But they were looking for a better life and they fled from here for various reasons. The time has come when we, the authorities, and I as head of state, and you, priests, all of our people, should take a step towards them.”

At the same time, Łukašenka made it clear that his political opponents would face criminal charges upon their return to Belarus unless they “repent.” “Everyone has to take responsibility for their actions,” he said. “I am sure that deeply repentant people are among those who escaped and among those who are living with us today. People who have realized that they were wrong. They should not be marginalized.”

Recently, Łukašenka has repeatedly claimed that political refugees were begging to return home.