BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian police on Thursday banned Petr Nikitin, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from entering the country, a Belgrade-based lawyer said.
Nikitin, a founder of the Russian Democratic Society, which opposes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was denied entry to Serbia where has lived since 2016.
Cedomir Stojkovic, a lawyer who represents Nikitin, said the decision was made following a request to police from Serbia’s Security and Information Agency (BIA) seeking “a protective measure of expulsion of a foreigner”.
“This is unlawful as Nikitin’s children are here, this is a separation of a family, he is a resident, but the police can nevertheless deport him,” Stojkovic said.
Stojkovic said he would lodge a complaint to the ministry of interior.
The BIA and interior ministry were not immediately available to comment.
Earlier in the day, Nikitin, who holds Dutch citizenship, told the Serbian service of Radio Free Europe that he would stay at Belgrade airport’s terminal until he was allowed to enter Serbia or deported.
The decision to block Nikitin’s entry comes after the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Aleksandar Vulin, the director of the BIA and a trusted ally of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Although Belgrade has repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has so far refused to join international sanctions against Moscow. Serbia is dependent on gas imports from Russia, a traditional Orthodox Christian and Slavic ally.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic Editing by Mark Potter)
