Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the de facto ruler of Belarus, is setting a trap, his opponents say, for those who fled abroad to escape his repressive rule.
No longer will Belarusian embassies issue or renew passports to nationals living abroad, according to a fresh edict from Lukashenka published on September 4. If they need the document, Belarusians will have to return home.
And critics fear Belarus's security forces will be waiting. An estimated 200,000-300,000 Belarusians have left the country since August 2020, when Lukashenka was declared president for a sixth five-year term after an election that was widely condemned as rigged.
That vote triggered a wave of protests that were crushed by Lukashenka's security forces. Hundreds were arrested, many were tortured, and several died in the crackdown. Opposition leaders were rounded up, with many imprisoned. Others fled. The West has refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus.
The Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
The Belarusian human rights group Vyasna says more than 1,500 people are currently behind bars in Belarus as political prisoners.
Opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania after challenging -- and many say beating -- Lukashenka in the 2020 election, warned Belarusians, saying in comments to the Associated Press on September 4 that 'even if your passport expires, you should not return to your home country if you risk persecution.'
The new restrictions come amid what opponents and activists say are stepped-up efforts by the Lukashenka regime to round up opponents. Detentions of Belarusians who have lived abroad and returned home are up this year, they say. Activists predict this latest move could result in more Belarusians applying for either asylum or new passports in the countries where they reside, or eventually even opting for a 'new national passport' recently unveiled by the Belarusian opposition in exile but still unrecognized internationally.
Condemnation of Lukashenka's latest move was quick and widespread.
'The announcement about plans to withhold passport services for Belarusians who live abroad is another repressive measure to control and restrict them,' the U.S. Embassy in Belarus said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
'This latest draconian move by the Belarusian government is an apparent retaliation against its critics in exile,' said Anastasiia Kruope, assistant Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). 'Those forced to return to the country to obtain essential documents will be at risk of arrest and political prosecution.'
Putting Belarusians In 'Precarious Position'
According to Lukashenka's decree, a Belarusian passport may only be renewed now where the holder was registered as residing inside Belarus. Up till now, Belarusian expatriates have been able to get new passports at the country's diplomatic missions abroad.
'The cancellation of consular services now places exiled Belarusians in a precarious position. Unless they return to Belarus to renew expired passports, they could find themselves without their primary identification document and unable to access a wide range of essential services in their current countries of residence,' wrote Hanna Liubokova, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council.
'However, returning to Belarus could result in arrest and prosecution in connection with their earlier involvement in anti-regime protests.'
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Washington DC 20036