Belarusian Youth Activists Deported From Moldova

MINSK -- Moldovan authorities have deported three Belarusian youth activists who intended to monitor Moldova’s parliamentary elections on July 29, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports.

Aksana Zakreuskaya, Aksana Samoylava, and Tatsyana Karalyova, who are activists of the Belarus Youth Democratic Forces movement, are currently in the Ukrainian city of Odesa. They told RFE/RL by phone that Moldovan officials accused them of involvement in organizing the mass unrest that followed Moldova’s parliamentary elections in April.

The activists said they are now forbidden to enter Moldovan territory for four years.

The results of Moldova’s April election were annulled after opposition supporters organized a series of mass demonstrations. Preliminary results from the new vote on July 29 show the pro-Western opposition with enough votes to unseat the ruling Communist Party.