Lithuania denies Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya extradition to Belarus

Lithuania on Friday publicly rebuffed a request from the Belarus General Prosecutor's Office to extradite the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to the country after a harsh government crackdown followed disputed elections last summer.

Belarus requested Tsikhanouskaya extradition "to face prosecution for crimes against the governing order, public safety and the state." but Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis response to the request was blunt: "We can tell the Belarusian regime that we would rather watch hell freeze over than think about their demands."