February 4, Pozirk. A special government commission set up two years ago to handle requests from political emigrants for return to Belarus will continue its activities, Prosecutor General Andrej Švied has told journalists after the meeting with the Belarusian ruler.
The commission reviewed 241 requests and 19 applicants have already returned to Belarus, the state-run media reported, citing the official.
“Everything they say abroad, that someone was allegedly arrested here and so on – we are not aware of such facts except for one: the person returned here, but was arrested for committing another crime,” Švied said.
About 40 applicants were assured of a safe return yet they are under pressure from foreign intelligence services, he claimed.
On receiving a request, the commission examines the case to see whether the applicant can be prosecuted in Belarus and whether that person is eligible for leniency. It is also reviewing the case files of Belarusians convicted on extremism-related charges to provide recommendations to Łukašenka on their inclusion in pardon programs.
One day before Švied’s announcement, the state-controlled Belarus 1 television channel broadcast in interview with an IT professional who returned to Minsk with the commission’s help. The man shares his negative impressions of Spain, where he lived and worked for some time.
Journalists assume that, for some applicants, safe return may be conditional on interviews for propaganda stations, in which interviewees are told to cast Belarus in a positive light and countries that sheltered them in a negative light.
Švied indirectly confirmed that assumption: “Those people who will return will be given an opportunity to speak out, and you will hear and learn the truth from them how difficult it is to live abroad, how Belarusians are treated there and how and who prevents our citizens from returning home,” he said.
Opposition politicians have repeatedly warned exiled Belarusians that it was too dangerous to return because of the threat of persecution.
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians fled their country amid a government crackdown on dissent.
However, most Belarusian emigrants would return home if a new government came to power and reprisals ended, according to a recent survey by the BEROC think tank.
Also read: At least 8 arrested returning to Belarus during holiday season – BySol
