{"id":7031,"date":"2025-02-13T14:01:36","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T11:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d9lb3qyw8jhbr.cloudfront.net\/?p=7031"},"modified":"2025-02-13T14:01:37","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T11:01:37","slug":"results-of-the-fight-against-extremism-in-belarus-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d9lb3qyw8jhbr.cloudfront.net\/en\/results-of-the-fight-against-extremism-in-belarus-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Results of the fight against \u201cextremism\u201d in Belarus in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Equating any dissent with \u201cextremism\u201d or \u201cterrorism\u201d remains one of the most widespread repressive tactics in Belarus. <\/strong>The unprecedentedly broad application of \u201canti-extremism\u201d legislation, which has been systematic since 2020, has effectively turned political persecution into a \u201cconveyer,\u201d which is facilitated by an entire \u201cecosystem\u201d of repression \u2013 specialized laws on combating \u201cextremism\u201d and \u201cterrorism\u201d; corresponding criminal and administrative offenses; numerous \u201cextremist\u201d lists<\/a>; amendments enabling the revocation of citizenship<\/a> for \u201cextremist crimes\u201d or the imposition of the death penalty for \u201cacts of terrorism\u201d<\/a> and \u201chigh treason.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The politicized nature of this legislation has been repeatedly criticized at the international level. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus<\/em> has emphasized <\/a>that the adoption and implementation of \u201canti-extremism legislation\u201d in Belarus \u201cis part of a state-directed, widespread and systematic policy for eradicating civic space and any actual or perceived dissent in the country.\u201d<\/em> The report of the OHCHR Examination of the human rights situation in Belarus<\/em> also highlights<\/a> the use of \u201cbroad counter-terrorism and counter-extremism legislation to restrict civic space.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past year, prosecution for \u201cextremism\u201d has often taken absurd forms, where songs<\/a>, memes<\/a>, and anime icons<\/a> were deemed as manifestations of extremism. However, the consequences of such repression are far from humorous \u2013 Belarusian courts have repeatedly issued harsh sentences for donations<\/a>, online comments<\/a>, and acts of direct action<\/a>. The fight against \u201cextremism\u201d also has an external dimension. In 2024, Belarus joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) <\/em>\u2013 an entity where counter-extremism efforts are defined in an overly broad manner, blurring the lines between violent and non-violent extremism and justifiably drawing international criticism<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past four years, we have been preparing regular reports<\/a> on how Belarusian authorities conduct their \u201cfight against extremism.\u201d Below, we present key numbers and trends in politically motivated \u201canti-extremism\u201d persecution in 2024.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExtremism\u201d in numbers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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According to the Investigative Committee (IC), since 2020, a total of <\/strong>22,500<\/strong><\/a> \u201cextremist crimes\u201d have been documented.<\/strong> In 2024 alone, special (in absentia<\/em>) criminal proceedings were officially initiated<\/a> against 109 individuals residing abroad<\/strong>. However, public sources indicate that criminal cases have been opened against more than 350 people living outside Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, HRC \u201cViasna\u201d<\/em> documented 1,721 convictions<\/strong><\/a> under \u201cextremist\u201d criminal articles, while Dissident.by<\/em> documented 1,762 convictions<\/strong><\/a>. The most commonly used Criminal Code (CC) provisions for persecution were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n