Olga Karach, head of the Nash Dom NGO (Our House) nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, was deemed a threat to national security and denied asylum in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian authorities allegedly justified the decision by saying that she interviewed Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the late Russian politician who routinely threatened to attack the Baltic states, and also participated in conferences in Russia, including those organised by the European Commission, Karach told the Meduza news agency.
The human rights lawyer has lived in the country since 2020, holding Lithuanian resident permits since 2014. She moved to Vilnius permanently in 2020 and applied for asylum in 2022.
"Today, at 08:00, I was notified [of the rejected application]," Karach said, adding that she plans to appeal.
She was added to the “list of terrorists” by Belarus in September 2021, while Nash Dom NGO was declared an extremist organisation in May 2022. Her Belarusian passport has also been revoked.
"I am recognised as a terrorist by the Belarusian KGB. [...] I need additional protection because with my residence permit, if I go to any country and Lukashenko contacts Interpol regarding me, I can simply be detained there," Karach told the BNS news agency. "Clearly, I would be released at some point but it's simply dangerous to travel with such several-month detentions."
Lithuania’s Migration Department declined to comment, saying it does not disclose details about individual asylum cases.
Our House says it provides humanitarian, psychological and other assistance to Belarusians both in their homeland and in Lithuania, and also monitors human rights violations.
Additional reporting by BNS.
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