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The higher chamber of the Belarusian parliament Wednesday passed amendments to a citizenship legislation that might be used to focus on political opposition and critics in exile. Though it has not but been endorsed by the President Alexander Lukashenko, the invoice would permit him to strip Belarusians of their citizenship.
Initially handed in 2002, the Regulation on Citizenship was previously amended in August 2021 to permit authorities to strip sure naturalised Belarusian criminals of their citizenship. The newest proposals to this legislations would widen these provisions to incorporate Belarusian born residents, permitting Belarusians who’ve been exiled overseas to be stripped of their citizenship. Moreover, the amendments require Belarusians to tell authorities of their overseas citizenship or residence allow.
Commenting on the developments, assistant Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch Anastasiia Kruope mentioned, “The efforts to prosecute Belarusians overseas and to facilitate stripping their citizenship are unprecedented acts of repression towards Belarusians in exile.”
Following unrest and mass protests in 2020, a big quantity of Belarusians fled the nation different areas of Europe, particularly Poland, Latvia, Germany, the Czech Republic and Estonia. Liliya Ananich, the deputy head of the Everlasting Fee on Human Rights, Nationwide Relations and Mass Media of the parliament’s decrease chamber, mentioned that the authorized adjustments apply to individuals who “forfeited their authorized bond” with Belarus, though it’s unsure how officers would decide this forfeiture.
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