Andrei Shved. An archive photo
MINSK, 5 February (BelTA) – The number of applications submitted to the readmission commission by Belarusians who fled abroad is expected to grow, Prosecutor General Andrei Shved told the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA reports.
“By now, 241 applications have been received. We have told about 40 of applicants that no legal proceedings were initiated against them and they are wrong about their legal status. 19 people have already returned. Applications continue to come. And I believe that the number of applications will increase for a number of objective reasons, including the expiration of the statute of limitations for crimes committed in 2020,” Andrei Shved said.
The prosecutor general recalled that in accordance with the president's decree of October 2024, the powers of the commission were expanded. Other tasks set by the president are being fulfilled.
“We have reviewed a number of requests from the Sports and Tourism Ministry. They want us to assess the legal status of some athletes who went astray in 2020 but who are needed by our sport. About 50 such cases have already been reviewed,” said Andrei Shved.
He noted that the readmission commission is a public body. Officials, including the prosecutor general, account for no more than a quarter of decision-makers there. “Most of its members are representatives of the media and the public. Therefore, we look at the information from different perspectives. There was an instruction of the head of state to process applications from individuals who were convicted of extremist crimes related to the 2020 events. We received 230 such applications. We cleared 202 of them and established that the other 28 could not be pardoned. The head of state agreed with us and pardoned these people; these individuals were released,” Andrei Shved said.
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