Gay rights activist taken off train, searched by customs officers
A gay rights activist was ordered by Belarusian customs officers
off a Minsk-bound train and searched at the Ukrainian border in the
morning of September 14.
Natallya Mankowskaya, a leader
of an unregistered gay rights group called Lambda, was returning from
Ukraine when she was told to leave the train. Mikhail Matskevich, a
human rights defender representing the Minsk-based Center for Legal
Transformation who was travelling together with the woman, followed her
to a customs office in a show of solidarity.
No illegal or suspicious items were found during the search and the activist was eventually allowed to continue her journey.
Ms.
Mankowskaya said that she would make a formal complaint about the
customs officers’ actions for failing to tell her the grounds for the
search, according to her associates. In addition, she said that the
officers had delayed the search to prevent her from catching the next
train to Minsk.
At least two more gay rights activists were
strip-searched and had their belongings and laptops examined carefully
by Belarusian customs officers earlier this year.
