MINSK. Oct 19 (Interfax) - Vyacheslav Orlovsky, who heads a unit of the Belarusian Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for the Fight Against Organized Crime and Corruption Control, has proposed revoking the citizenship of Belarusians who have left the country and are working for the West.
"People who have fled our country, who hate it and are working for Western countries, should have no right to be called Belarusians," Orlovsky said in an interview with the SB. Belarus Segodnya media outlet.
"If they have turned away from the country, why can't the country turn away from them? As a result, they won't be able to come to Belarus unhindered, will not be able to take part in electoral processes or in the state's social and political life," he said.
It is necessary to consider stripping such people of Belarusian citizenship, Orlovsky said.
Amendments to the country's citizenship laws took effect in June of this year, he said.
"From now on, people who have gained Belarusian citizenship can lose it if courts find them guilty of committing a number of crimes, such as crimes related to extremism or terrorism or crimes that seriously harm the interests of Belarus. This list also includes Article 361 of the Criminal Code. We're talking about it now. It's worth mentioning that it took us two years to draft these amendments. And then it was only about people who had received citizenship, rather than became Belarusians by birth. But I think that we ought to take a broader look at this issue," Orlovsky said.