Russian authorities start warning men attempting to leave the country of criminal liability

Russian border authorities have started handing out written notices to men attempting to leave the country warning them of criminal liability. Novaya Gazeta. Europe knows of at least two such cases.

The wife of a 48-year-old man working in IT says that he was turned away at the border with Kyrgyzstan. The border service told him there was a travel ban.

At an air checkpoint in Russia’s Omsk, he was handed a written notice banning him from crossing the border, which says that leaving Russia may lead to criminal charges under article 322 of the Russian Criminal Code (Illegal crossing of the state border of the Russian Federation).

There is an error in the notice: the man’s year of birth is stated as 1994. His actual year of birth is 1974. His wife added that he had previously served in the army.

Another Russian man also signed a document which warned him of criminal liability for attempting to cross the Russian border. His wife told Novaya Gazeta. Europe about this, but they did not have the document on them.

The man arrived on the border on 24 September and stood in line near the settlement of Vishnevka on the border with Kazakhstan. At about 10 PM on 26 September, he said that he had been turned away at the border. He was told to contact the enlistment office for more details.

The man is 25 years old; he did conscript service in the Caucasus.

On 21 September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation. An information portal set up by the government says that there are no travel restrictions for Russian citizens introduced during the partial mobilisation.

Yesterday, five men were taken off the train en route from St. Petersburg to Belarus. There was a 20-year-old student among them, however, it is not said whether he is doing full-time studies.