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Opposition activist Tatsyana Shaputska expelled from Belarusian State University

Tatsyana Shaputska, spokeswoman for a Czech-registered opposition youth group called Malady Front, has been expelled from Belarusian State University.

Tatsyana was expelled because she attended a meeting of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in Brussels on November 16 and 17 without permission of the dean of the law department where she was a student, Malady Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich told BelaPAN.

Tatsyana's fellow students plan to press the dean to revoke the expulsion order, he said.

The news that Ms. Shaputska may be expelled from the university came while she was staying in Brussels.

A representative of the European Commission, Eugeniusz Smolar, told the news to Leanid Kozik, chairman of the pro-government Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus who was also present at the meeting.

According to Mr. Dashkevich, Mr. Kozik replied that if Ms. Shaputska was expelled from the university, he would personally organize a demonstration in her support at the center of Minsk.