Lithuania refuses to extradite Tikhanovskaya to Belarus

MINSK. May 12 (Interfax) - Poland has rejected Belarus' request seeking the extradition of Nexta blogger Stepan Putilo, while Lithuania has refused to extradite former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian Investigative Committee said.

"Poland has refused to extradite Stepan Putilo to Belarus, while Lithuania has refused to extradite Svetlana Tikhanovskaya," the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA quoted head of the Belarusian Investigative Committee Dmitry Gora as saying.

In November 2020, Belarus asked Poland to extradite Putilo to face prosecution in Belarus on charges of inciting racial, national and religious enmity, organizing mass riots, etc., Gora said.

A reply officially rejecting the Belarusian agency's request was received in February 2022.

"What it said was that the provision of legal assistance could cause harm to sovereignty and security, the rights and legal interests of citizens, or contravenes the main principles of current legislation," he said.

"Lithuania, for its part, refused to extradite Tikhanovskaya, who has also been charged with committing a series of grave crimes, including a plot to seize power in the country," Gora said.