Latest travel alert: Feds issue ‘Level 4: do not travel’ warning for European country

The U.S. State Department has reissued a Level 4 warning – its strongest – for a European country, urging Americans to leave the country immediately.

The “do not travel” status covers Belarus, an Eastern European country bordered by Russia, Ukraine Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The warning, according to the State Department, is due to the “Belarusian authorities’ arbitrary enforcement of local laws, the risk of detention, the continued facilitation of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the potential of civil unrest, and the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Belarus.”

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In early 2022, the State Department ordered the departure of U.S. government employees and suspended operations at its Embassy in Minsk. And, because Belarus does not recognize dual nationality, authorities often refuse to acknowledge dual U.S.-Belarusian nationals’ American citizenship, denying or delaying consular assistance to detained people.

Tens of thousands of individuals, including some U.S. citizens, are being detained in the country for alleged affiliation with opposition parties and participation in political demonstrations, according to the State Department. About 1,300 of those prisoners are currently in jail for political acts that wouldn’t be considered criminal in the U.S. and prisoners are routinely denied access to their embassy and lawyers and any outside communication.

Anyone who is in the country is advised to avoid public demonstrations and reconsider bringing electronic devices, most of which are being monitored by Belarusian security services, into the country.

Belarus is among 20 countries classified under Level 4: Do not travel warnings. The others are:

• Afghanistan
• Burkina Faso
• Burma
• Central African Republic
• Haiti
• Iran
• Iraq
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mali
• North Kora
• Russia
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Ukraine
• Venezuela
• Yemen