Travel banned reveal “blacklisting” scheme
Journalist Mihas Yanchuk has managed to take a look at the list of travel banned.
I have learnt the name of the official who added me on that list. It could also be the a name used to add me there. He is a military commissar in Rechytsa, Homel Province. I have never been to Rechytsa and I have never lived or been registered there. So it’s funny”, - said Mihas Yanchuk to Euroradio. He was born in Brest and his military registration and enlistment office is also situated there.
Mihas received the stamp “travel banned” in his passport on May 15. He was going to pay a working visit to Warsaw. The journalists managed to take a look at the list of travel banned. It turned out that the name of the person responsible for adding this or that person to the database was also indicated there.
“You can see the exact date, name and surname of the person responsible for your addition to the database. The police cannot remove me from the database because I was added there by the Ministry of Defense. They showed me the software. It did not allow removing people from the list of travel banned if they were added there by some other department”.
In the journalist’s opinion, it explains why so many opposition members and human rights activists suddenly found themselves added on the list by the Ministry of Defense.
Co-chairperson of the civil campaign “For Fair Elections” Victar Karnyayenka who is also on the list of travel banned has encountered another problem. He was not drafted, the police do not have anything against him but the court is silent. He has not received any response so far.
“The court has not reacted. We sent a complaint there more than 1.5 months ago. We received a delivery notification from the post office. But the court has not reacted”, - says Karnyayenka.
Travel banned head of Belarusian Helsinki Committee Harry Pahanyaila is more lucky – the hearing of his case is appointed for June 19. Pahanyaila wants to find justice in court in principle.
“In fact, I do not really care about the ban. I can travel; I just have to choose some other itineraries”.
Meanwhile, journalist Mihas Yanchuk has phoned the military commissar from Rechytsa who added him on the list. The commissar has confessed that he has never signed any decisions about adding someone on the list of travel banned and has promised to confirm it in court.
