Lithuanian police takes over Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's security
This will happen in the coming days.
Photo: Jakub Porzycki NurPhoto via Getty Images
Lithuanian police officers are taking over the protection of Belarusian democratic leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, confirmed to BNS agency press secretary of the Police Department Ramūnas Matonis.
«I can confirm that the police are taking over the protection of Tikhanovskaya,» Ramūnas Matonis told the BNS agency.
The intention to reduce the level of security for Tikhanovskaya and her workplace was announced back in October.
Earlier, experts suggested that changes in the security system mean that Tikhanovskaya's house and office remain under protection, but the Belarusian opposition leader loses personal protection in Lithuania and abroad. Ramūnis Matonis stated that information about her security regime will not be disclosed.
Supporters of the decision argue that the change in Tikhanovskaya's level of protection is due to a decrease in threats to her and technical reasons.
Critics suspect that this decision was political in nature and aimed at satisfying those who believe that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who arrived in Lithuania in 2020 after the presidential elections in Belarus, is given excessive attention and that too many resources are spent on her protection. In their opinion, such a decision humiliates the status of the opposition leader.
After the level of protection is changed, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya may move to live and work in Poland.
Tikhanovskaya's diplomatic advisor Denis Kuchinsky then stated that a final decision on ensuring security in Lithuania has not yet been made.