Polish notary refused to serve a Belarusian because he shares a name with a sanctioned deputy

Illustrative photo. Photo: freepik.com

Ales admits that the notary's attitude seemed unusual to him from the very beginning. The Belarusian runs his project – the Telegram channel DzikMedia, and he is also the founder of the amateur football club "Białystok Wild Boars". He says the notary joked about why the word "dzik" (wild boar) was used instead of "vaviorha" (squirrel). But "strange jokes" are no reason not to order the service.

Soon, the notary informed Ales that he would not process his documents because, as of May 2023, he was included in the sanctions list and that his entry and stay in Poland posed a threat to the security of that state.

Such a list indeed exists and is published on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration of Poland. On May 30, 2023, Aliaksandr Liauchuk, a citizen of Belarus born in 1985, a deputy of the House of Representatives from the Pruzhany constituency, was added to it. The justification states that he participated in the adoption of laws aimed at repressing citizens of Belarus, and his activities are characterized as supportive of Alexander Lukashenka's regime.

“Such a position, given Russia's military actions in Ukraine, the logistical and political support provided to Moscow by the Belarusian authorities, and the hybrid warfare waged against Poland, creates a serious risk of provocation or incidents that harm the international standing of the Republic of Poland,” the justification text states.

“No questions arose”

Although Ales shares the same first and last name with the deputy, they have different patronymics and birth dates. But he never managed to convey this to the notary.

“I lost money, time,” he complains.

But he adds that he refused to pay for the services of such a notary.

Eventually, Ales found another notary. He explained the situation to her. She checked and confirmed that a completely different person was on the sanctions list.

“No questions arose, everything was resolved in four days. She even wondered: 'How so, not to check – that's unprofessional,'” Ales recounts.

Now he advises all Belarusians in Poland to pre-check the list on the Polish ministry's website and, if a namesake is found there, to draw the attention of the notary, bank, or other institutions that it is merely a coincidence.

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