MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine barred a Russian human rights campaigner from entering the country on Sunday, the Russian Human Rights Council said.
Andrei Yurov, who heads the Council’s commission on human rights abroad, had flown to Kiev to attend an international conference and to meet with Ukraine's human rights commissioner.
“When I arrived in Ukraine, I was stopped at the passport control checkpoint,” Yurov was quoted by the council in a statement.
“I was told that I was a persona non grata and I will not be allowed to enter the country. Apparently I am on some kind of a list of most dangerous people.”
The human rights activist criticized the Ukrainian authorities for violating their international commitments on human rights issues.
“What happened to me in Ukraine is absolutely unacceptable,” Yurov said.” I have never been involved in politics. I have always worked on something that has no borders – the human rights issue.”
Ukraine’s move could be a response to Yurov’s previous work on monitoring human rights in Belarus during a government crackdown on opposition following presidential elections in December, 2010.
Yurov was detained by the Belarusian authorities and deported to Russia in March, 2011.
