{"id":131721,"date":"2025-03-26T20:37:53","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T17:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"vilnius-envoy-no-lithuanian-schools-in-belarus-dozens-of-ethnic-lithuanians-behind-bars","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/","title":{"rendered":"Vilnius’ envoy: no Lithuanian schools in Belarus, dozens of ethnic Lithuanians behind bars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

March 26, Pozirk<\/em>. <\/strong>About 20,000 Lithuanians living in Belarus have no schools or religious services in their mother tongue, while dozens are held behind bars on politically motivated charges, special envoy Asta Andrijauskien\u0117 has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was speaking at a roundtable at the Lithuanian Seimas on challenges and opportunities facing Belarus and Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The two Lithuanian schools that were there have been closed. Lithuanian non-governmental organizations have been dissolved. Some activists have been arrested,” Andrijauskien\u0117 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In Belarus\u2014in Hierviaty, Rymdziuny, where people would like to have a mass in Lithuanian\u2014they do not have this opportunity,” she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a more serious problem is that “several dozen Lithuanian nationals are in Belarusian prisons,” the envoy said. “They have been charged over social media posts. Unfortunately, our ability to help them is extremely limited.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She recounted the story of a Lithuanian actress “deported from Belarus without the possibility of returning.” “She did not participate in any protests. Her only guilt is that she is a national of Lithuania,” Andrijauskien\u0117 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When you talk to international organizations, let’s talk not only about human rights violations against Belarusians but about human rights violations in Belarus in general, including against nationals of other countries. Vatican has appointed a new nuncio to Belarus. Let’s raise this issue [with him],” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also read: Lithuania may cut off funding for its minority school if Belarus bans instruction in Lithuanian<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania urges Belarus not to violate commitments on education in national minority languages<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

March 26, Pozirk. About 20,000 Lithuanians living in Belarus have no schools or religious services in their mother tongue, while dozens are held behind bars on politically motivated charges, special envoy Asta Andrijauskien\u0117 has said. She was speaking at a roundtable at the Lithuanian Seimas on challenges and opportunities facing Belarus and Lithuania. “The two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":63993,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-131721","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nVilnius' envoy: no Lithuanian schools in Belarus, dozens of ethnic Lithuanians behind bars | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"March 26, Pozirk. 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About 20,000 Lithuanians living in Belarus have no schools or religious services in their mother tongue, while dozens are held behind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/\"},\"headline\":\"Vilnius’ envoy: no Lithuanian schools in Belarus, dozens of ethnic Lithuanians behind bars\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-26T17:37:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/\"},\"wordCount\":260,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/\",\"name\":\"Vilnius' envoy: no Lithuanian schools in Belarus, dozens of ethnic Lithuanians behind bars | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/131721\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-26T17:37:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"March 26, Pozirk. 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