Russian border guards have no black lists from Belarus
The border control department at the Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow confirmed to the European Radio for Belarus that the Russian border guards stopped checking the "valid for foreign travel" stamp in Belarus passports effective from January 1, 2008. Regarding the list of citizens restricted by Belarus from travelling abroad, the Russian border guards have no idea.
Officer: “We had an order that allowed to clear people without any notes in their passports. As for the list of citizens restricted from travelling abroaad, I don't think anyone will give you an precise information. Frankly speaking, I am not aware that those lists reached us indeed”.
No lists were sent to Sheremetyevo-1 Airport, either. A border control officer at the Sheremetyevo-2 International Airport advised us to look for the black lists of Belarusians at the headquarters of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
Sheremetyevo-2 officer: “I suggest that you contact the press office of either the Belarusian law-enforcement agencies or the press office of the Federal Security Service in Moscow”.
The FSB today was closed for holidays, so the European Radio for Belarus called the press office of the Belarus's Interior Ministry. Spokesman Aleh Slepchanka said that the situation with the lists at the Russian border control authorities would soon be sorted out.
Aleh Slepchanka: “The law has just been passed. The database is being updated in the on-line mode. So it would not be right to expect that everything would be smooth right away. It is just a matter of time to repair temporary defects”.
He says that the database is being updated daily, because courts in Belarus work every day, too.
Aleh Slepchanka: “Courts do not stop working. The names of those restricted from leaving Belarus are updated throug the Justice Ministry, KGB or Defense Ministry. Parallel to that, those people are personally notified about being entered into this database”.
People will be removed from the database after they sort out their problems with the law. It is worth noting that it is the responsibility of the citizen to seek information from the Interior Ministry's Citizenship and Migration Department whether he or she is crossed out of the database or not. This information will be provided within one month.
The list of the citizens restricted from foreign travel is updated not only by the Interior Ministry but also by the KGB and the Defense Ministry. The official refused to reveal how many people have been registered at the database as of today. However, he noted that over 100,000 people entered the black list by the notice of the Interior Ministry alone as of January 1, 2008.
Aleh Slepchanka: “This number is floating. I don't see it necessary to announce it everyday or even every month. Every citizen can obtain information about their status individually. As of late December, Interior Ministry alone had over 100,000 people associated with criminal prosecution and entered into this database”.
According to the Interior Ministry of Belarus, 115 felony crimes were committed in Belarus. 48 criminal cases were opened. It means that the database will grow at least at this number. We could not obtain information about how many administrative cases were opened and how many sentences were issued. Even the border guards have no information about the number of the people restricted from leaving Belarus.
“Border guards use special scanners during the border controls. Those scanners are connected with the automated border control syste, which in turn is linked with the databases updated by law-enforcement and security agencies. I am not able to look up at the database and tell you how many people are "hanging" there,” said Alexander Tsishchanka, spokesman for the Border Control Committee of Belarus.
