Journalist Aliaksandr Burakou detained in Germany with renewed Schengen entry ban
8 June 2026
Belarusian journalist Aliaksandr Burakou arrived in Berlin from Moldova on June 4, where he had previously obtained refugee status. At passport control he was detained and informed that his name is in SIS (the Schengen Information System database for border control and security), listing him as prohibited from entry to Schengen countries. BAJ spoke with the journalist while he was held in a detention cell at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport.
Aliaksandr Burakou Sr. Photo: BAJ
Burakou previously had a 5‑year entry ban to Schengen countries. This ban expired on March 2, 2026. According to the journalist, in April he submitted a request to Czech police asking whether the ban had been lifted and his name removed from the database. On April 13, Czech police confirmed the ban no longer existed. So Burakou felt safe traveling to Germany.
“At passport control, I was told there were no problems with my documents except that my name is in the Schengen SIS system. It turned out that on April 16 of this year, Poland entered my data with a ban on entry for another 5 years until April 16, 2031, stating that I present a threat to Poland. I haven’t traveled to Poland during this time since I’m outside the Schengen area, even though over the past 4 years my Polish lawyers and I have challenged the previous ban, also imposed by Poland, which we consider baseless,” Burakou said.
Burakou doesn’t know why Poland renewed the ban. German authorities also provided no explanation, noting they have no complaints against the Belarusian or his documents — a biometric refugee passport issued by Moldova — and he could travel to Germany without a visa.
Burakou had planned to return to Chişinău on June 8. While in the detention room, he was given his phone and was able to book a new flight for the next day, June 5, which cost more than his original round-trip ticket. His passport will be returned only before takeoff.
A mystery dating back two decades
In 2021, Burakou learned he was banned from Schengen countries until March 2, 2026, despite recently receiving a Polish visa.
According to the journalist, he initially tried to figure out on his own what he might have violated to warrant a Schengen entry ban. But it remained a mystery: on March 2, 2021, he obtained a Polish humanitarian visa without problems, but couldn’t use it because he needed to relocate to Lithuania instead.
When he submitted documents to the Lithuanian embassy two months later, it emerged that at Poland’s initiative he was placed on a list of persons considered a threat to Polish internal security. Although the journalist had never even visited Poland.
Burakou suspects the cause may be events from 20 years ago:
“In the mid-2000s, during my journalistic work, there was a serious conflict related to the use of funds for equipment. This happened in Poland, and I was the author of a letter we sent to Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was financing the project. It ended with the equipment being urgently purchased, but shortly after I was stopped at the border and my visa was also annulled.”
Then Burakou was banned from Poland for three years. But later the journalist obtained several Schengen visas from the Lithuanian embassy, crossed borders without issue, and visited Schengen countries.
In summer 2025, Burakou’s lawyer demanded an explanation of the grounds for his inclusion in the SIS database and access to case materials to challenge the ban.
On July 9, 2025, the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court ruled that the refusal to disclose case materials was unlawful. But in the same month, his request was denied again “because the grounds for entry into SIS fall under provisions of legislation where a foreigner has no right to access documents.”
On December 29, 2025, his lawyer Piotr Dzieniszewski received a response confirming the Foreign Affairs Office maintains its position and demands dismissal of Burakou’s complaint.
The Warsaw Regional Administrative Court in early March 2026 ruled to dismiss Burakou’s suit. The reasons why the Belarusian journalist ended up on a Schengen ban remain a mystery.
Background
Burakou left Belarus due to politically motivated persecution. He worked as a freelancer for Belsat, Radio Racyja, and Deutsche Welle. After the 2020 protests, he was detained twice for his professional activities and sentenced to administrative arrests. In detention, he staged a hunger strike protesting inhumane prison conditions.
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