Belarus citizen gains political refugee status in Ecuador

Aliaksandr Barankov’s case drew attention after Ecuador granted political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange earlier this month. Judge Carlos Ramirez of the National Court of Justice found the political refugee status granted Mr Barankov to be justified, according to a court official. Mr Barankov, 30, had argued he could be killed if sent back to his former Soviet bloc homeland, whose president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been nicknamed “Europe’s last dictator”. Ecuadorean court ratifies political refugee status for Belarus former investigator. Read Article