Lukashenko ally wins Lithuanian case over EU sanctions

(VILNIUS) - A top ally of Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has won a case in Lithuania over an asset freeze under European Union sanctions, a Vilnius court said Tuesday.

The court had ordered the Baltic state's foreign ministry to reconsider its rejection of a request by Vladimir Peftiev to be allowed to use his money to pay for Lithuanian lawyers who filed a suit in an EU tribunal, the court said in a statement.

The court found that the ministry had failed to properly analyze if Peftiev -- nicknamed "Lukashenko's wallet" by the embattled Belarusian opposition -- could apply for an exception to EU sanctions to help fund his defence.

The ministry said it would appeal the ruling, which came amid increased tensions between Vilnius and Minsk over the so-called "teddy bear" stunt in July by Swedish activists who allegedly flew a plane via Lithuania to parachute teddy bears with pro-democracy messages into Belarus.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that many important circumstances were not assessed, including the fact that the exception regarding the application of sanctions cannot be applied automatically," ministry spokeswoman Daiva Rimasauskaite told AFP on Tuesday.

In June 2011, the EU slapped entry bans and asset freezes on a swathe of Lukashenko allies and businesses linked to Belarus's inner circle.

Among those hit was Peftiev and his three firms: arms company Beltechexport, telecoms operator Beltelcom and marketing business Sport-Pari.

Two months later, Peftiev challenged the measures in the EU court, assisted by a Lithuanian law firm.

In power since 1994, Lukashenko has launched a series of crackdowns against the opposition over the years, and swung between trying to mend fences with the EU and sparring with the bloc, resulting in sanctions.

Like Belarus, neighbouring Lithuania won independence from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991. But the two countries have followed very different paths since then.

Lithuania is firmly anchored in the West, having joined the EU and NATO in 2004.