February 3, Pozirk. Lithuanian court may outlaw the New Belarus Passport, the alternative ID developed by the Belarusian opposition, criminalizing its production, 15min.lt reported, citing a letter by Lithuania’s Deputy Prosecutor General Gintas Ivanauskas.
Manufacturing forged documents or knowingly using a forged ID carries criminal charges and a penalty of up to four years in prison, the letter stressed. Ivanauskas forwarded it to the Lithuanian authorities and the Belarusian Passport Center, a Lithuania-based agency in charge of the project.
The prior notification by the Belarusian side about the planned passport issue does not make the activity legal, the official noted.
The exiled Belarusian opposition started accepting applications for New Belarus Passports one week ago. Its leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja’s team plans to negotiate the recognition of the alternative ID by the democratic countries within the next seven months.
Lithuanian officials have already indicated that Vilnius will not recognize the New Belarus Passport as a valid ID. Remigijus Motuzas, chairman of the Seimas foreign affairs committee, told journalists on January 22 that the alternative ID project by the Belarusian pro-democracy forces was a “purely symbolic document.”
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians are in exile as a result of the political crisis ongoing since 2020. Many of them cannot renew their passports because of the risk of contact with Belarusian officials. The Belarusian opposition wants to print alternative passports to help their compatriots legalize their status. One of the passport centers will open in Vilnius, which worries Lithuanian politicians.
