Belarus Bars Former Leader from Leaving Country

Belarus' first post-Soviet leader, Stanislau Shushkevich, says authorities have prevented him from leaving the country by removing him from a train bound for the capital of neighboring Lithuania. Shushkevich said he was taken off the train heading to Vilnius early on March 18 by border guards who offered no explanation. He called it a sign of "lawlessness" and added that, since he earns part of his income by working abroad, it was also an infringement on his economic rights. Several prominent journalists and opposition members have been barred from leaving the country in recent weeks. The government has refused to comment on the existence of a suspected blacklist of people barred from leaving the country.

http://www.rferl.org/content/ex_leader_shushkevich_barred_from_leaving_belarus/24519612.html