The new law on entry and exit of Belarusian citizens will allow to reduce the number of those banned from leaving by 2 times

March 18, Minsk / Vasily Malashenkov - BELTA /. The new law "On the Procedure for Departure from the Republic of Belarus and Entry into the Republic of Belarus of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus" will reduce the number of individuals banned from leaving the country by approximately half. This was announced today at a press conference by Dmitry Levchenko, Head of the Passport and Border Crossing Department of the Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs Migration Department, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. Currently, the database of individuals banned from leaving the country contains information on approximately 125,000 citizens. As noted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs representative, this figure is quite unstable and changes. At the same time, the number of individuals banned from leaving can be reduced, as the new law, which comes into force on March 30, establishes a more democratic procedure. According to current legislation, citizens who possess information constituting state secrets, as well as those who are debtors in bankruptcy cases, suspects or accused of committing criminal offenses, convicted individuals, those evading conscription into the army, etc., can be granted the status of being banned from leaving. All of them are currently automatically included in the database. Under the new law, a separate decision will be made regarding each convicted, accused, or suspected individual. The restriction on leaving the country may be temporarily lifted if a person is going for medical treatment or to attend the funeral of a close relative, as well as for other reasons. In addition, the law clearly defines the list of bodies that make decisions on restricting the right to leave. These include courts, military commissariats, and other departments. Moreover, they are obliged to notify the citizen that they have been banned from leaving no later than one day after the decision is made. As emphasized at the press conference, the new law implements one of the fundamental constitutional principles – a person cannot be deprived of the right to leave, but this right can be restricted. -0-