No Longer Jailed for Days for 'Extremist' Subscriptions During Border Checks
"Now there's such an order."
Illustrative photo: LookByMedia
Belarusians who have been registered for participating in protests or other political activity, as well as all who have been abroad for a long time, are meticulously checked at the border upon returning to Belarus. However, now, for 'extremist' subscriptions, they are usually not sent to jail for days — at least if it's the person's first offense.
The approach changed about two months ago. "Nasha Niva" knows of several cases where people had inadvertently left subscriptions to independent media resources or accounts of political activists, deemed "extremist," on their mobile phones. They were taken to the police department (RUUS) — and there, they were issued a warning, and that was the extent of it.
"If you had traveled earlier, you would have been sent to jail for days, but now there's such an order," border security officials said.
However, it is unknown whether they are limited to a warning if a person is found with forbidden subscriptions repeatedly.
The phone check itself is quite detailed — they examine the photo gallery, subscriptions and chats in Telegram, and Instagram subscriptions.
Often, in addition to checking phones, people with a protest past are forced to strip naked at the border.