Belarus border guards explain denial of entry for Swedish fan
"Crude treatment of teddy bears" is behind Belarus' decision to deny entry to Swedish rights activist Martin Uggla.
Martin Uggla, the head of Sweden-based human rights organization Оstgruppen on May 7 was not allowed to enter Belarus when he was passing passport controls upon arrival at the Minsk international airport. Uggla had bought a ticket for the World Ice Hockey Championship that is to start on May 9 in Minsk. His plan was to attend the Sweden-Denmark match on May 10.
On May 8, Uggla flew to Vilnius after spending the night at the transit area of the Minsk international airport.
Commenting on the situaion, the spokesman of Belarus' Border Control Agency Aliaksandr Tsishchanka told Belapan that Uggla had been on Belarus' visa-ba and he had perfectly known about that. "The man has come for PR, knowing he is persona non grata here. He is not a fan. He does not like ice hockey. He hates the country and treats teddy bears cruelly," Tsishchanka is quoted by Belapan as saying. In the fall of 2012, Оstgruppen was collecting teddy bears in order to send them by mail to Belarusain officials on the EU travel-ban list.
Photo: ostgruppen.se
