Mother Complains About Passport Confiscation at ZabGU Dormitory

A mother of a student complained to a correspondent of Chita.Ru that security at the dormitory of Zabaikalsky State University (ZabGU) at 46 Novozavodskaya Street in Chita takes passports from visitors. On February 3, the ZabGU press service reported that they had not received such reports.

Seizing a Russian citizen«s passport, including accepting it as collateral, is strictly prohibited, even if done voluntarily. Organizations (hotels, employers, checkpoints) are not allowed to keep original passports. Violations are punishable by an administrative fine.

«Since the arrival of the new superintendent, there is an unwritten rule: all visitors must leave their passports as collateral with security during their visit. I came to the city on business and decided to visit my child in the dormitory. Security took my passport and kept it. They said I could only get it back when I leave the dormitory. Without it, they wouldn»t let me in, saying I should meet elsewhere,« the woman said.

She added that such rules had not existed before: «When asked why they can»t simply take the passport, record it in the visitor log, and then return it to the owner, the only answer is the superintendent«s order. The passports just lie on the security guards» table, not even in a safe. Previously, that was not the case; they simply wrote down who was visiting whom. This is not my first child living in this dormitory.«

The press service of ZabGU told a Chita.Ru correspondent that there had been no complaints from students about this. However, the university will check the information that has emerged.