Tag: expulsions

Ukrainian activists, journalists and human rights defenders express their indignation at the deportation of Lyudmyla Kozlovska from Poland and the EU. Moreover, politicians from several Ukrainian parties asked the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to obtain explanations from the Polish side.

“I have filed a parliamentary question with the Prime Minister regarding the prohibition of entry into the Schengen Area issued in the case of Lyudmyla Kozlovska ” – this is what Marcin Święcicki Member of the Polish Sejm posted on his Facebook profile on 22 August, 2018.

On 20 August, 2018 i.e. 6 days after Lyudmyla Kozlovska was detained and expelled from the European Union, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights expressed its opinion on the matter by publishing the following statement on its website.

“Such a fierce attempt at gagging the Foundation and undermining its work, despite its undisputable contributions and achievements, is just bewildering. Obviously, there is one country which clearly dislikes the Open Dialogue Foundation. It is Russia.” – says Andrzej Wielowieyski.

Guy Verhofstadt, Alice Stollmeyer and a number of other European activists and politicians speak out in defence of Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation who has been removed from the EU territory upon demand of the Polish authorities – reports Newsweek.

Guy Verhofstadt, the Chair of the Liberal Group at the European Parliament, famous for his bitter criticism of the reforms introduced in Poland by the Law and Justice party incisively commented on the expulsion of Lyudmyla Kozlovska from the EU territory upon request of the Polish government.

One may well anticipate the abuse of Interpol’s Red Notice system by Kremlin to persecute its political adversaries. However, such abuse of the Schengen Information System by the government of an EU Member State in order to silence its critic is quite shocking – says Euan MacDonald.

“In our opinion, entering Lyudmyla Kozlovska into the Schengen Information System (SIS) and depriving her of the right to stay within the Schengen area is a dangerous precedent initiating a new way of persecution of civil activists in the EU Member States” – claims a group of Ukrainian NGOs.

On 17 August, having heard about the detention (on the request of the Polish government), and, subsequently, expulsion from the EU territory of the President of the Open Dialogue Foundation Lyudmyla Kozlovska, MEP from the Green faction, Rebecca Harms expressed her shock.

The Polish right-wing government is still finding new instruments to attack democracy and the rule of law. However, the government has now set a truly surprising precedent. Warsaw has used its EU power to deport critics of the government.

Some Moldovan media, considered as close to the Democratic Party, reported the deportation from Poland of the head of the Open Dialogue Foundation, a civil society activist from Ukraine Lyudmyla Kozlovska. These media claim that Kozlovska was deported from the EU

On Tuesday 14 August 2018, Mrs Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) was deported from the EU territory to Kyiv, Ukraine due to an abuse of the Schengen Information System (SIS).

Poland placed Lyudmyla Kozlovska on the Schengen Information System (SIS) alert list which resulted in her immediate deportation from the EU territory. This opened yet another stage of the battle led by the Polish Government against the Open Dialogue Foundation, considering that Bartosz… (read more)

We wish to draw your attention to the alarming fact of the prosecution of the relative of a Kazakh oppositionist in a case which is overtly characterised by political context.

The wife and daughter of Mukhtar Ablyazov in Italy were under close surveillance. International human rights organisations and the United Nations have expressed serious concern about the ‘extraordinary rendition’ of Mukhtar Ablyazov’s wife and daughter to Kazakhstan.