Viktar Karneienka, a politician in Homel, won a case against the passport and visa agency
Radio Liberty
Today Court of Chyhunachny District of Homel granted the suit to the famous politican Viktar Karneienka against the district passport and visa agency.
Judge Larysa Kazyrevich, who had reviewed Viktar Karneienka’s suit, ruled that the passport and visa agency of Chyhunachny Disctrict Department of Police give Mr. Karneienka permission to temporarily leave Belarus.
The Board of Internal Affairs of the Region Executive Committee should compensate to the politician the legal costs worth 120 thousand rubles.
The court ruling passed today had been preceded by three sessions.
Mikalai Pryimachuk, the acting head of the passport and visa agency of Chyhunachny Board of Internal Affairs, explained it to the court that Viktar Karneienka had been denied permission to leave the country because the taxation committee of Savietsky Borough had sent to the Migration and Citizenship Department a notice saying that the politician had not paid a governmentally awarded fine.
The legal proceedings highlighted that the officers employed in the passport and visa agency had not performed verification required to find out whether Mr. Karneienka should be restrained in his ability to leave the country. The officers had violated the law and the departmental instruction regarding the order of Belarusian nationals leaving Belarus.
Valiantsin Krylou, head of the taxation committee of Savietski Borough, had no ground to report to the regional department of migration and citizenship the fine the politician had allegedly failed to pay.
In fact, the taxation committee has grievances against Karneienka-led civil association Civil Initiative, whose closure was initiated by the taxation committee.
Mr. Karneienka is in turn satisfied with the decision of the court. Importantly, Mr. Karneienka brings to attention the expanded self-will of the officials in power.
Karneienka: “ It is clear to me that a rather dangerous process has been launched in our country. The constitution and the laws are superseded by instructions, and sometimes a world outlook of the Belarusian bureaucrats who think – this is how it should be – and that’s it. Power turned into something the officials own. The willfulness is virtually unchecked.”
