Belarus asks Lithuania to extradite opposition leader

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled Belarus for neighbouring Lithuania amid a crackdown on critics of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus says it has requested the extradition of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was forced from the country last year amid a crackdown on critics of leader Alexander Lukashenko. Tikhanovskaya, who challenged Lukashenko in a presidential vote last August that the opposition denounced as rigged, sought refuge in neighbouring Lithuania as Lukashenko moved to stifle dissent in the wake of his controversial election win. The Belarus General Prosecutor’s Office said on Friday it had requested that Lithuania, a European Union member state, extradite her “to face prosecution for crimes against the governing order, public safety and the state”.