Belarusian activist Olga Karach continues to deny any allegations by Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) about her cooperation with the Russian intelligence services.
On Monday, BNS reported that VSD concluded that “the Belarusian opposition activist Karach, who lives in Lithuania, cooperated with the Russian intelligence services”.
A VSD document, seen by BNS, stated that Karach visited Russian territory between 2015 and 2019 to meet with Russian intelligence officers. According to VSD, Karach also communicated with them through impersonal means.
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On Tuesday, Karach held a press conference. Before it started, a picture of former Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaitė shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown on the screen. Grybauskaitė met with Putin in 2010.
Karach also jokingly asked the journalists gathered at the press conference to speak up if they were Russian KGB or FSB agents.
“Because in the decision of VSD, it was said that some people at some conferences could be FSB or KGB agents, and I spoke to them. I would like to make sure that nobody here is working for the KGB,” Karach said.
The Belarusian activist noted that she was called a terrorist and extremist by the Belarusian regime and that she was imprisoned on suspicion of terrorism.
“I completely disagree with any of the VSD arguments. [...] If VSD thinks I am on the other side, please send me to Belarus and see what happens,” Karach told the press conference.
According to her, it would be safe for her to return to Belarus if she was indeed working with Russian special services, but the opposite is true.
“I am very angry. But I will not stop to defend my good name and my reputation, because I am not a KGB agent, I am not sending any information to anyone. This is unbelievable, what is happening in Lithuania,” she added.
Last week, Karach, head of the Nash Dom NGO, was deemed a threat to national security and denied asylum in Lithuania. She was later issued a temporary residence permit based on humanitarian grounds.
Surprising decision
Karach’s lawyer, Rytis Satkauskas, said that although she has been living in Lithuania for almost a decade, she applied for asylum about a year ago because she started to feel unsafe here.
“So, she asked for international protection. [...] Legislation stipulates that the Migration Department has to make a decision on asylum within six months, but in this case, it took a year. Therefore, we asked the court to assess the legality of the decision,” Satkauskas explained.
According to the lawyer, the Migration Department concluded that Karach’s safety and life would be at risk in Belarus but decided not to grant her asylum anyway.
“I cannot say whether Olga was surprised by this decision, but I was certainly surprised. The decision recognises the threats that Olga faces in her home country. It is no secret that Olga is on the terrorist list, which carries the death penalty in Belarus,” Satkauskas noted.
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