Belarus Leader denied accreditation to attend London Olympics

Lukashenko and his son at the Euro 2012 Final in Kyiv which the dictator was invited to despite strong protest from civic organizations

Russia’s Olympics chief says Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been denied accreditation by London Olympics organizers to attend the 2012 games, which officially begin in the British capital on July 27.  

The announcement was made through Twitter by State Duma Deputy Speaker and Russian National Olympic Committee head Aleksandr Zhukov.

Lukashenka, along with more than 200 other Belarusian officials, are banned from entering European Union member states such as Britain because of human rights abuses and democratic shortcomings in Lukashenka’s regime.

Some 120 state heads are expected to attend the Olympics opening ceremony in London.

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe have not been invited.

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