Labkovich, Expelled From Belarus, Banned From Leaving The Country

Human rights defender Uladzimir Labkovich of Viasna, who was forcibly expelled from Belarus in December 2025, has been banned from leaving the country. He received the relevant documents at his registered address in Minsk. The stated reason was failure to pay a fine in the Viasna case, the human rights center reported.

In March 2023, Labkovich was sentenced to seven years in a medium-security penal colony and fined 3,000 base units, or 111,000 rubles. The human rights defender was later pardoned. On Dec. 13, 2025, Labkovich was forcibly expelled to Ukraine. His passport was not returned, and he was instead issued a certificate with no expiration date. In April 2026, it became known that his passport, which was valid until 2027, had been annulled.

In April, Labkovich also received a message on Instagram offering him “an opportunity for an excellent option for unhindered entry into and exit from Belarus” in exchange for providing information.

Two months later, investigators searched the human rights defender’s apartment in Minsk as part of a new criminal case opened over his activities after his release. The case is reportedly linked, among other things, to Labkovich’s participation in a rally in Vilnius marking Freedom Day.

Uladzimir Labkovich is a lawyer with the Viasna human rights center and coordinator of the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections campaign. In 2023, Uladzimir Labkovich was sentenced to seven years in prison in the Viasna case. The human rights defenders were found guilty of smuggling as part of an organized group and financing group actions that grossly violated public order. On Dec. 13 last year, he was released and forcibly taken out of Belarus.