Failed Belarusian asylum-seeker repatriated from Sweden arrested upon return home

A Belarusian man who was deported from Sweden following the rejection of his asylum claim was immediately detained upon arrival in Belarus, Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio reported on Wednesday.

The man fled Belarus after taking part in protests that swept the country in 2020 following a stolen presidential election that resulted in the re-election of dictator Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term in office, according to the report.

Both the man and his mother, with whom he arrived in Sweden two years ago, feared imprisonment if they returned home, where criminal cases had been opened against them, according to documents they submitted to the Swedish Migration Service.

However, their asylum applications were rejected for unknown reasons last year, and the pair — neither of whom has been named — were deported from Sweden to Belarus earlier this month. The man was arrested as he entered the country and taken to a detention centre in the capital Minsk, his relatives told Sveriges Radio, adding that the whereabouts of his mother were unclear.

Stefan Krstic, a lawyer who has represented multiple Belarusian asylum seekers in Sweden, told Sveriges Radio that many of his clients had seen their applications turned down due to the fact that until recently the Swedish Migration Agency assessed asylum applications using old and outdated information.