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| Former Belarus spy gets asylum in Lithuania |
| 2013-03-19 |
| Former Belarusian military intelligence officer Stsyapan Zakharchanka has been granted political asylum in Lithuania. Zakharchanka said that Lithuanian officials made the asylum decision last week. He said he would be allowed to stay in the EU for five years. Zakharchanka made news in the summer of 2011 after he defected to Lithuania. He later said that he defected because his life was being threatened. He said he was severely beaten and hospitalized after refusing to sign an agreement to shoot at unarmed protesters in Belarus if ordered to do so by his supervisors. The Belarusian Defense Ministry has rejected Zakharchanka's accusations. |
| Posted by:ryuge |