MINSK, 16 January (BelTA) – The draft law to criminalize doping in sport in Belarus will be submitted to the spring session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, member of the Standing Commission on National Security Vasily Chekan told BelTA.
According to the MP, there are plans to introduce amendments to the Criminal Code and Labor Code. “Requirements will get tougher. If athletes test positive, they can be, for example, stripped of all the state awards,” he explained.
As BelTA reported earlier, Belarus issued Decree No. 201 “On combating doping in sport” in May 2018. The document spells out practical mechanisms to prevent the use of substances prohibited in sports, and also methods and measures of responsibility for the violation of anti-doping rules. In addition to the deprivation of state awards for certain achievements in sport, the disqualified athlete or his staff expects a ban to engage in teaching activities in the field of physical education and sport. They will also be obliged to make incentive payments. For the systematic doping violations, federations (unions, associations) may be deprived of the right for state support, exemption from taxes and fees (duties) on foreign grants. They also can be excluded from the register of federations for up to two years. As for national teams, measures will include reduction in their number and financing.
The government has been instructed to consider the ways of establishing criminal responsibility for the use of prohibited substances and methods, as well as attempts to tempt athletes to violating anti-doping rules.
