Belarusian parliament passes law targeting political critics in exile – JURIST

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The upper house of Belarus’ parliament passed amendments to a citizenship law on Wednesday that could be used to target political opposition and critics in exile. Although it has yet to be approved by President Alexander Lukashenko, the bill would allow him to strip Belarusians of their citizenship.

Originally passed in 2002, the citizenship law was amended in August 2021 to allow authorities to strip certain naturalized Belarusian criminals of their citizenship. The most recent proposals for these laws would expand these provisions to include citizens born in Belarus, allowing Belarusians who have been exiled abroad to have their citizenship stripped. In addition, the amendments require Belarusians to notify authorities of their foreign nationality or residence permit.

Commenting on these developments, Anastasiia Kruope, associate Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “Efforts to prosecute Belarusians abroad and facilitate the deprivation of their citizenship are acts of unprecedented repression against Belarusians in exile.

Following mass unrest and protests in 2020, significant numbers of Belarusians fled the country to other parts of Europe, namely Poland, Latvia, Germany, Czech Republic and Estonia . Liliya Ananich, deputy director of the Standing Committee on Human Rights, National Relations and the Media of the lower house of parliament, said the legal changes apply to people who have lost their legal connection with Belarus, although it is unclear how officials would determine this. confiscation.

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