Prominent Russian Rights Campaigner Barred From Ukraine

Rights activist Andrei Yurov in Kyiv in early December

A member of the Russian presidential Human Rights Council, Andrei Yurov, has been barred from entering Ukraine.

Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said on February 10 that Yurov had been prevented from entering the country by orders of Ukrainian law-enforcement agencies.

No further explanations were given.

Ukrainian border guards stopped Yurov at the Kyiv airport on February 9 and asked him to leave the country on the same plane.

Yurov, who is also an expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group, planned to participate in an international conference in the Ukrainian capital and meet with a local ombudsman.

Yurov told journalists that the decision by Ukrainian officials was politically motivated, as he and his team have been monitoring human rights violations at the ongoing pro-EU protests in Kyiv.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax