Bill allowing KGB to restrict travel for security reasons passed

April 18, BPN. The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly, has approved the bill “On Amendments to Laws” after the second reading. It is aimed at bringing legislation in line with Alaksandr Łukašenka’s 2021 edict “On Biometric Documents,” the lower house’s press office reports.

The bill specifies who may be eligible for deferment in the event of a military draft, bars those charged with minor offenses from leaving Belarus, and entitles the Committee for State Security (KGB) to temporarily restrict individuals’ travel abroad “in the interests of national security.” It also outlines procedures for public servants’ foreign travel.

The bill details the procedure of obtaining foreign travel approvals by the heads of state agencies and tech workers with access to state secrets.

Belarusians studying on campus abroad would be eligible for military draft deferment on condition that they enrolled before they turned 18.

The bill has yet to be approved by the Council of the Republic, the upper house, and signed into law by the head of state.