You can be forbidden to go abroad because of programme bug
A “Malady Front” activist was “accidentally” added on the list of people forbidden to go abroad and frontier guards did not let her leave the country because of a programme bug. The Ministry of Internal Affaires corrected the mistake and apologized to the girl for it. However, they did not promise to refund her expenses for the tickets. At the same time, the Department on migration and citizenship claims that there can be no “bugs” in the programme dealing with the data base of people forbidden to go abroad. A minor “Malady Front” activist Nasta Palazhanka was made to get off the train heading for Warsaw on the night of April 4. The reason for it was some criminal case that was said to have been started against her. The girl was added on “the list of people forbidden to leave the country” and she was not allowed to cross the Belarusian border.
However, ERB has found out that the girl was not added on “the list” at the beginning. It took frontier guards an hour to find it out in Brest. According to Nasta, they allowed her to cross the border at first and then they annulled the permission.
Nasta Palazhanka: “I was made to get off the train and some director of the station told me that I could not cross the border because there was a criminal case started against me. When I looked into my passport I saw that there was a stamp “allowed” covered with a stamp “annulled” in it. It seemed that somebody had phoned them”.
Frontier guards refused to show the list to the girl. They said they were not allowed to show the data base to unauthorized persons. When she asked how she was supposed to return to Minsk they simply showed her the station ticket office.
Nasta Palazhanka: “They did not give any explanations. They just said: “It is a data base. We do not have any right to demonstrate it”. I asked them how I was supposed to return home. They said: “Here is the station. Find out when the next train departs”.
When the girl arrived to Minsk she turned to her district department on migration and citizenship. She was given a certificate confirming that she was on the list of people forbidden to go abroad. The information about a new criminal case started against her frightened the girl. Furthermore, she knew nothing about it. The “Malady Front” activist turned to the Ministry of Internal Affaires to get an explanation. They answered that she had been added on the list due to a bug of the hardware-software complex. The police apologized to the girl but did not mention any possibility of a refund of her expenses for tickets.
At first Nasta was going to use the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But it turned out that she did not preserve her train tickets and lawyers advised her not to go to court that time.
Nasta Palazhanka: “It is difficult to prove anything without a ticket or some material proof. It seems to be the only refund they could give me – the cost of the ticket. However, I do not think it is the last situation of the kind. I will remember it next time and I will preserve my tickets”.
ERB asked a former judge of the Constitutional Court, the head of the legal service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, Mihail Pastihou to explain whether there was any sense to turn to court in such a situation.
Mіhaіl Pastuhou: “According to art.60 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, everyone has a right for legal protection. They can also demand a refund. There is no limitation imposed on the right to ledge complains. I would advise that Nasta should lodge such a complaint and demand a refund of the losses she suffered because of the interdiction to go abroad. She can also demand a moral compensation. The first part of the demand must be considered by the court. Speaking about a moral compensation, it is much more complicated. However, there is a right for a compensation of the kind guaranteed by the Constitution”.
ERB turned to the Department on migration and citizenship to find out whether “bugs” in the hardware-software complex were frequent and “what was responsible” for the list of people forbidden to go abroad. However, according to the deputy head of the department Alyaksei Byahun, the system of addition and removal of names is perfect and there cannot be any mistake while adding a name on the list.
Alyaksei Byahun: “The system is quite precise and debugged. There cannot be any mistake. Personal information about a certain citizen it added there so they could not add a person instead of some other person. I am not ready to comment on the situation when it could happen”.
However, ERB has found out that the girl was not added on “the list” at the beginning. It took frontier guards an hour to find it out in Brest. According to Nasta, they allowed her to cross the border at first and then they annulled the permission.
Nasta Palazhanka: “I was made to get off the train and some director of the station told me that I could not cross the border because there was a criminal case started against me. When I looked into my passport I saw that there was a stamp “allowed” covered with a stamp “annulled” in it. It seemed that somebody had phoned them”.
Frontier guards refused to show the list to the girl. They said they were not allowed to show the data base to unauthorized persons. When she asked how she was supposed to return to Minsk they simply showed her the station ticket office.
Nasta Palazhanka: “They did not give any explanations. They just said: “It is a data base. We do not have any right to demonstrate it”. I asked them how I was supposed to return home. They said: “Here is the station. Find out when the next train departs”.
When the girl arrived to Minsk she turned to her district department on migration and citizenship. She was given a certificate confirming that she was on the list of people forbidden to go abroad. The information about a new criminal case started against her frightened the girl. Furthermore, she knew nothing about it. The “Malady Front” activist turned to the Ministry of Internal Affaires to get an explanation. They answered that she had been added on the list due to a bug of the hardware-software complex. The police apologized to the girl but did not mention any possibility of a refund of her expenses for tickets.
At first Nasta was going to use the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But it turned out that she did not preserve her train tickets and lawyers advised her not to go to court that time.
Nasta Palazhanka: “It is difficult to prove anything without a ticket or some material proof. It seems to be the only refund they could give me – the cost of the ticket. However, I do not think it is the last situation of the kind. I will remember it next time and I will preserve my tickets”.
ERB asked a former judge of the Constitutional Court, the head of the legal service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, Mihail Pastihou to explain whether there was any sense to turn to court in such a situation.
Mіhaіl Pastuhou: “According to art.60 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, everyone has a right for legal protection. They can also demand a refund. There is no limitation imposed on the right to ledge complains. I would advise that Nasta should lodge such a complaint and demand a refund of the losses she suffered because of the interdiction to go abroad. She can also demand a moral compensation. The first part of the demand must be considered by the court. Speaking about a moral compensation, it is much more complicated. However, there is a right for a compensation of the kind guaranteed by the Constitution”.
ERB turned to the Department on migration and citizenship to find out whether “bugs” in the hardware-software complex were frequent and “what was responsible” for the list of people forbidden to go abroad. However, according to the deputy head of the department Alyaksei Byahun, the system of addition and removal of names is perfect and there cannot be any mistake while adding a name on the list.
Alyaksei Byahun: “The system is quite precise and debugged. There cannot be any mistake. Personal information about a certain citizen it added there so they could not add a person instead of some other person. I am not ready to comment on the situation when it could happen”.
