All liable for service to be forced to be fingerprinted

It is to happen under the law newly adopted by the “chamber of representatives”.

“Amendments to the law “On state fingerprint registration” envisages increasing the circle of persons who are required to be fingerprinted due to persons subject to draft,” stated Interior Minister Anatoly Kulyashou, Interfax informs.

As noted by the head of the Interior Ministry, this decision would allow “considerably increase of law-enforcement agencies’ effectiveness in the sphere of social security prosecution”. Besides, as said by Kulyashou, by introducing obligatory fingerprinting, “we also have preventive aims”. “The fact that a person knows his fingerprint information is in the database would be an important factor which would prevent unlawful acts,” the minister said.

The Interior Minister stated that at present according to agreements between the Interior Ministry and Defence Ministry, military enlistment offices and interior affairs agencies carry out voluntary fingerprinting of male persons subject to draft aged 18-25.

“By December 1 this year fingerprinting of more than 1.3 million has been made, which is 61% of the total number of reservists. 22,000 persons refused to pass this procedure,” Kulyashou said.

As charter97.org informed, mass illegal fingerprinting of male population of Belarus started after the blast on July 4, 2008 in Minsk. Belarusians are required to be fingerprinted under a pretext of a visit to a military enlistment office, or a summons to a police department. Besides, the Interior Ministry started to hold fingerprinting of underage in specialised secondary schools.