Belarusian powers extend list of foreigners barred from entering the counrty

The list of the officials barred from entering Belarus has been modified, as the Belarusian Home Ministry told Interfax on Monday. According to the Ministry representatives, new names were added to the list of the foreigners whose arrival to Belarus is either prohibited or undesirable. The following foreigners are short-listed: those who crossed the Belarusian frontier illegally, who were exonerated after imprisonment, deported from the country, as well as those detained on Belarusian roads for driving in a state of intoxication, - Home Ministry officials remarked.

Nevertheless, the names of the foreigners and their number were not specified since all countries compile such lists in regards of state security, and keep them top secret. No country has ever promulgated these lists. As the information agencys interviewees emphasized, every year new names appear on the list and some are crossed out.

According to the Home Ministry authorities, at present for 40 thousand foreigners the arrival is prohibited or undesirable, and about 10 thousand people have been added to the list within the recent 2 years. As the official source emphasized, this category comprises all those people who have committed crimes in Belarus and were deported from the country.

Moreover, those who are members of extremist or terrorist organizations, or whose membership in such organizations is suspected, are barred from entering the country, - the Home Ministry officials remarked.

The Home Ministry also reported that at present the law-enforcement agencies of Belarus are arranging the information data bank on foreigners who reside in the country permanently or temporarily.
Source: www.charter97.org