RUSSIA

AUGUST 6, 2005
Posted: August 9, 2005

Adam Tuchlinksi, Przekroj
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EXPELLED

Tuchlinksi, photojournalist for the weekly Polish news magazine Przekroj, was expelled from Belarus and banned from the country for five years.

Belarusian security agents detained Tuchlinksi as he was about to board a Poland-bound train in the western city of Grodno, according to international reports. Agents took him to a local police station where he was held for several hours and told he lacked proper accreditation to work in Belarus. He returned to Poland on a later train on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.

Tuchlinski was visiting Belarus on a tourist visa, the Polish news agency PAP reported, citing information from the local Polish Association of Belarus. It was unclear whether he had done any journalism work during his visit to Grodno, which has a sizeable population of ethnic Poles.

Saturday’s expulsion follows the recent arrests of several members of the Polish Association of Belarus stemming from demonstrations in Grodno. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has accused the group of scheming to overthrow him, the AP said.