English

Warsaw says that it learned of Strzelec`s plight «too late»

 

The Polish foreign ministry said on Monday that it had learned of the plight of Teresa Strzelec "too late" but was doing its utmost to provide assistance to the Polish national barred from leaving Belarus, BelaPAN said.

Ms. Strzelec went on hunger strike earlier this month to protest not only the Belarusian authorities` actions but also the lack of response from the Polish government to her situation.

Marcin Bosacki, spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry, said that the ministry learned of the problem on March 6, while its beginning dated back to April 2012.

"Had we known it before, we would have recommended Ms. Strzelec not to travel Belarus one more time," Polish Radio quoted Mr. Bosacki as saying.

According to Polish Radio, Ms. Strzelec, who has been staying in Belarus for more than a month, said earlier this week that she had run out of medicines that she had to take in connection with her pancreas condition.

Ms. Strzelec planned to leave Belarus on March 5 when she was told by border guards that she had to pay more than $20,000 in a tax and an import duty before she could exit the country. The woman subsequently had her Belarusian visa annulled and could not cross the border into Poland.

In 2012, Ms. Strzelec left her car at a repair shop in Brest after it broke down in the Belarusian city. Days later, police stopped the car with a mechanic`s son behind the wheel and seized the vehicle.

A court ordered the vehicle confiscated, accusing Ms. Strzelec of illegally lending it to a Belarusian citizen. The Polish woman and her husband mounted a legal battle against the ruling and eventually won their appeal. However, the vehicle had already been sold for 53 million rubels ($6,160) by that time.

In February this year, a court ordered the customs to give the money to Ms. Strzelec. As the woman arrived in Brest to collect the money, she learned to her surprise that she had to pay 200 million rubels in a tax and an import duty over the car sale.