Czech Foreign Minister: Ukraine's fugitives are not welcome in Czech Republic
Kyiv • UNN
The Czech Foreign Minister said that while the country welcomes refugees, it does not support those who try to evade legal military service.
The Czech Republic does not support those Ukrainian men in the country who are trying to avoid the draft, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said, UNN reports citing Novinky.
Details
According to the Czech Ministry of the Interior, there are 94,643 men aged 18 to 65 in the country who have temporary protection due to the war in Ukraine.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky commented on the desire of the Ukrainian authorities to return men from abroad, emphasizing that the country is a country of refugees, but not of those who are trying to avoid the draft:
I understand the problem of Ukrainian men who leave at the age of military service. The Czech Republic has long supported Ukrainian refugees, and we welcome them to our territory. But not those who try to avoid legal military service
Regarding the procedure for the mandatory return of men, he noted that the state's capabilities in this matter are limited.
"In the Czech Republic, there are no grounds for this in the law. It cannot deprive someone of temporary protection just because it decides to do so," said Věra Honuskova, an expert on international law at Charles University's Faculty of Law.
She sees a possible way out of the situation in the fact that Ukraine sends a summons and the person abroad does not comply with it. Then Ukraine could bring such a citizen to justice and demand his extradition from abroad for committing a crime.
The aforementioned restriction on the issuance of passports is also possible. "Every Ukrainian who has temporary protection in our country is obliged to present a valid travel document indicating temporary protection. If they fail to do so, they face a fine of up to five thousand crowns and the possibility of administrative deportation proceedings," said Josef Urban, spokesman for the Police Office for Foreigners.
However, he noted that the passport is valid for ten years, so no mass return of Ukrainians to their homeland is expected in the near future.
Recall
On April 23, the media began to disseminate information that men of military age would no longer be able to receive services at Ukrainian consulates. It will only be possible to draw up documents for returning to Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine provided clarifications regarding temporary restrictions on acceptance of new applications for consular services for men of military age abroad.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh statedthat his country is ready to help Ukraine in the issue of returning citizens of military age to participate in the war against Russia.
