In line with what was decided by the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers, and in coordination with the Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Lithuania, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs has taken the decision to place 30 Belarusian officials on Latvia's list of personae non gratae. Persons on this list are not permitted to travel to Latvia and this prohibition applies for an indefinite period of time. Included on the list are individuals from the office and administration of the President of Belarus; the central election commission of Belarus; the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice; the office of the General Prosecutor of Belarus; the State Security Committee; the Investigations Committee; the Security Council; the State Audit Committee; and the Executive Committee of the city of Minsk.
These individuals, through their personal actions, were organising and supporting the falsification of the 9 August 2020 elections for the President of Belarus as well as supporting the violent suppression of peaceful protests.
The Minister's decision is in accordance with Paragraph 61(2) of the Law on Immigration.
Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs has stressed that Latvia strongly condemns the falsification of the 9 August presidential elections, the beating of peaceful protestors, and persecution of journalists and activists in Belarus. With our decision in this regard, the Latvian Foreign Minister said, we are giving a clear signal that such actions are not acceptable and that those responsible for such acts are not welcome in Latvia. We call upon the European Union to promptly proceed with similar decisions.
Each of the following officials is now a persona non grata in Latvia:
Alexander Lukashenko
Viktor Lukashenko
Igor Sergeenko
Maxim Ryzhenkov
Olga Chupris
Dmitry Krutoy
Gennady Bogdan
Lidia Yermoshina
Vadim Ipatov
Elena Dmuhajlo
Svetlana Kacubo
Igor Plyshevskiy
Oleg Slizhevsky
Irina Celikovec
Valery Vakulchik
Ivan Tertel
Ivan Noskevich
Aleksandr Konyuk
Yuri Karaev
Gennadi Kazakevich
Aleksandr Barsukov
Sergey Khomenko
Yuri Nazarenko
Roman Melnik
Ivan Kubrakov
Oleh Shablyko
Andrei Ravkov
Aleksey Volkov
Sergei Azemsha
Andrei Smal