The editor of the Belarusian opposition website Charter 97, Natalya Radina, has asked for political asylum in Lithuania, Charter 97 quoted Radina as saying.
Radina was detained on December 19 in the aftermath of protests against elections which returned President Alexander Lukashenko to power for a fourth term. She was among dozens of opposition activists charged with organizing and taking part in the demonstrations, and spent over a month in jail.
"After the presidential elections in 2010, the website Charter 97.org was registered in this country (Lithuania), my colleagues are there, and I can fully perform my editorial duties in Vilnius," Radina said in her letter.
After being released from a pretrial detention center in late January, Radina was obliged not to leave the Brest region, where she was officially registered as residing. The journalist however left for Moscow where she was granted refugee status and then fled to Lithuania.
The Baltic state is known for its support of Lukashenko's opponents. In June, a so-called House of United Belarus, that brings together Belarusian political immigrants, was opened in Vilnius. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis hailed the idea and expressed hope that Belarus would return to democracy and freedom.
