MINSK, 4 February (BelTA) - The commission [a special commission led by the prosecutor general tasked with considering petitions of Belarusian citizens, who stay abroad and need to know whether they face charges in Belarus] will continue working, Belarus’ Prosecutor General Andrei Shved told the media,BelTA learned.
“The work of the commission will be continued. We believe that it helps solve a number of issues,” Andrei Shved said.
According to him, the commission has already considered 241 applications, 19 people have already returned to Belarus (some came and went several times).
“About 40 persons have been given explanations that they face no accusations and can safely return home. But I know that foreign intelligence services are working some of them. We know such facts. The returnees will be given the floor to sahre their stories about their ‘sweet’ life abroad, to tell how Belarusians are treated and how and who prevents our citizens from returning home,” Prosecutor General Andrei Shved said.
"Anyone who wishes to return, please apply. You will receive objective information along with the guarantees established by the decree of the head of state. You will easily enter our country, as 19 people have already done. You can reach out to any of them. Everything that they write abroad that someone was allegedly detained upon arrival is not true. Except for one case when a person returned and was detained for committing another crime. This means that a returnee does not have immunity from liability for other crimes," Andrei Shved explained.
On the instruction of the president, the commission is also studying the applications from the citizens who were convicted of extremist crimes and who applied to the president for pardon. "The commission’s proposals were taken into account by the head of state as he made decisions on pardon," the prosecutor general added.
