MINSK. Nov 3 (Interfax) - The Interpol considers it impossible to use its channels for searching for former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, head of the Interpol National Central Bureau in Belarus Dmitry Medvedev said.
"Having studied the materials we provided, a specialized working group, a unit of the [Interpol] General Secretariat, decided that Interpol channels could not be used to search for this person," Medvedev said on the Belarus 1 channel on Tuesday.
He said, however, that the Interpol had never doubted the lawfulness of the criminal cases opened in Belarus.
"The Interpol has never, under no circumstances, doubted the lawfulness of the criminal cases opened in the territory of the Republic of Belarus," Medvedev said.
The decision regarding Tikhanovskaya merely complies with the Interpol norms and rules, he said.
Tikhanovskaya joined the Belarusian presidential race after the Belarusian Central Elections Commission refused to register the campaign of her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was detained later. According to the official election results, Tikhanovskaya gained slightly more than 10% of the vote and ranked second in the presidential elections.
A number of EU member states recognized Tikhanovskaya as the Belarusian opposition leader.
In early April, the Belarusian State Security Committee added Tikhanovskaya, member of the Belarusian opposition's Coordination Council Presidium Pavel Latushko and another 15 citizens to the list of persons and entities conducting terrorist activities.