Lithuania revokes residence permit of Belorus resort’s chief physician

January 5, Pozirk. Illa Jepifanaŭ, chief physician at the Druskininkai-based Belorus health resort, was not able to enter Lithuania on Christmas Eve as the migration authorities cancelled his residence permit, 15min.lt reported.

He was reportedly designated as a national security threat.

The Belarusian-controlled resort refused to comment, noting only that Jepifanaŭ was on vacation.

In October, he told journalists that Belarusians continued operating the facility, yet admitted that it had to lay off some 200 employees in the past two years.

In mid-October, the resort announced plans to lay off about 60 employees because Lithuania had denied visas to Belarusian visitors, including minors, after Russia had started its war against Ukraine. 

The Lithuanian foreign ministry also reportedly planned to issue visas to visitors from Belarus only after approval by opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja’s office.

In 2020, the European Union froze the resort’s accounts as a part of sanctions against Minsk over allegations of human rights abuses.

The resort resumed operation only after Viktar Šejman, a senior official targeted by the EU’s asset freeze and entry ban, resigned from the Presidential Administration’s property management office.