The Homiel Regional Court has overturned the decision to expel a Ukrainian citizen from Belarus. This is not the first case of the deportation of migrants from the country. Sometimes such stories end in tragedy.
The deportation story of a Ukrainian citizen Sergei Protsenko from Belarus ended happily. The Homiel Regional Court overturned the decision of the Buda-Kashalyova district court on his deportation.
The plaintiff did not hide his joy, as even before the hearing, he did not have much hope in a positive outcome.
The 40-year-old Sergei Protsenko moved to Belarus 10 years ago. He married a Belarusian woman, they have three children. Last fall, the local police decided to deport the man from the country “in the interests of public safety.” The reason was an administrative offense, the man was detained under the influence in the public place. .
“And he says: they are sending me into nowhere! I have nowhere to go. If I am sent to Ukraine, I will go to war in the Donbass. I have no other way, ”emphasizes human rights activist Leanid Sudalenka.
Independent media, human rights activists and activists intervened in the Protsenko case. However, such situations do not always have a happy ending. Often, deportation court decisions lead to tragedies. Over the past two months, three Russians, who were supposed to be deported from the country for “appearing drunk in a public place”, have committed suicide.
One of the most outrageous cases occurred in Loyeu, where a 35-year-old Russian citizen was deprived of a residence permit and was supposed to be deported. But, as in the case of Sergei Protsenko, he had nowhere to go — Belarus was his home. Out of desperation, the man committed suicide, leaving a suicide note.
Human rights activists are confident that the laws that provide for deportation from the country for one administrative offense per year force people to commit suicide.
“We need to change the law, the practice of its application, so that one glass of drunk beer on the way home does not become a tragedy, not only for the person being sent, but also for his family,” Sudalenka notes.
The decision of the Homiel Regional Court was the light at the end of the tunnel. It was hoped that the staff of the citizenship and migration departments would attentively look into each case. But Sergei Protsenko is confident that the police will “find fault with him.”
In order for the situation to change for the better, a single court decision does not seem to be enough. But the case of the Ukrainian showed that the actions of activists and human rights activists can bring positive results. The main thing it to not give up.
Dzyanis Shpihau, belsat.eu
