1,142,000 foreigners are denied entry to Belarus, Deputy Interior Minister Ivan Padhurski said on Thursday when speaking in the lower chamber of the parliament.
He presented amendments to the law that regulates the list of foreigners whose entering Belarus is forbidden or undesirable. The updated law would contribute to reducing the number of denials, the minister announced.
According to the top official, 1,142,000 records is currently on the list; most of them (about a million) were added by Russia. More than 138,000 people were put on the list by the Belarusian authorities, including the KGB – 15,000, the State Border Committee – 7,000.
In addition, 5,000 people who failed to pay off fines in the territory of Belarus have been listed. When the amendments come in force, they will be required to pay punitive damages and allowed to enter the country.
In H1 2019, over 2 mln foreigners have entered Belarus, and 2.4 mln have departed from the country.
Such black lists have never been made public. Over the recent years, many citizens of Ukraine have been denied entry to Belarus, including journalist Vitaly Sizov and poet Sergei Zhadan.
In 2017, the then Belarusian Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich said 1.7 mln names were put on the joint black list of persons who were denied entry to the territory of Belarus and Russia. 1.5 mln of them were added on the initiative of the Russian Federation.
belsat.eu
