New restrictions on entering and leaving country pending review in Belarus
Belarusian passport/pasporta.org
The Belarusian authorities want to change the country exit and entry procedure for Belarusian citizens. A special draft of the law has already been submitted to the House of Representatives for review. MPs will consider it at the autumn session, which starts in October.
If the new law is adopted in its current form, the KGB will be able to restrict the departure of any Belarusian citizen for six months. To do this, KGB will only have to claim that "it is against national security interests".
In addition, a departure from Belarus will be prohibited for persons undergoing administrative proceedings for "offenses against administrative order". Previously, only those with unpaid fines were banned from leaving.
People in uniform will be able to go abroad only with the permission of their superiors. This rule was already in effect in the law enforcement agencies, but only unofficially. This time it may be fixed. This applies not only to security forces but also to emergency services staff.
