The right to impose a four-month travel ban is not linked to threats to the country.

On “TikTok,” a video featuring the notorious disseminator of disinformation, Valentin Jeremejev, is gaining popularity. In the video, he claims that a new law grants the police the authority to prohibit any individual from leaving the country for up to four months. However, “Delfi” verified that amendments of a similar nature were indeed adopted at the end of August. Still, they do not apply to all residents of Latvia.

In his post, which has garnered nearly 80,000 views in just a few days, Jeremejev alleges that these amendments to the Law “On the Police” are a “Christmas present” for the people of Latvia. However, other disinformation channels have taken this message and expanded upon it, linking it to potential threats of war.

In fact, these amendments were adopted at a Cabinet of Ministers (MK) meeting on August 29 of 2023.

Looking at the annotation of the amendments, it can be noted that upon receiving information or a submission that may indicate a possible threat, the State Police (VP) employee immediately assesses whether there is sufficient reason to believe that a person’s life, health, or safety may be at risk, or whether there are vulnerable individuals involved.

The term “vulnerable person” within the framework of the project is not confined solely to the person’s legal capacity to act. In other words, it should not be interpreted as implying that every vulnerable person automatically has their legal capacity restricted or that the regulation included in the project would only apply to persons with limited legal capacity as defined within the Civil Procedure Law (CPL). Instead, the term “vulnerability” within the project encompasses a range of circumstances (such as the person’s mental capacity, age, or dependence on another person) that realistically expose the individual to the risk of “being a victim.” Consequently, it may be necessary to impose an exit restriction in order to prevent exploitation of the person in question.

Due to the circumstances mentioned, such as a person’s mental capacity, age, or dependence on another individual, the existing national regulations may not adequately protect vulnerable individuals. It is the vulnerability of the person that can render them unable to foresee or understand the true intentions behind certain activities, thus making them susceptible to exploitation. For instance, a vulnerable person, even an adult, may lack the intelligence, skepticism, or critical thinking skills to discern the true nature of a situation. As a result, they might unknowingly participate in activities that put them at risk, such as attending a training course or camp abroad that appears legitimate but is, in fact, involved in human trafficking, explains the annotation.

Full text of annotation can be found here.