Monitoring of the situation with freedom of association and the status of civil society organizations in the Republic of Belarus August 2025

Freedom of association in Belarus is practically nonexistent. Despite the campaign for the mass liquidation of non-profit organizations (except religious organizations), which has ended in the country, there are serious problems with the implementation of this right:

1. The process of registration of public associations and foundations is permissive, expensive, and requires the preparation of a large number of documents, the requirements for which are not uniform and not perfectly set in the legislation. The process is also selective, as a result of which the registration of any non-profit organization that is undesirable to the authorities can be refused.
2. Enshrined in legislation and applied in practice Art. 193-1 of the Criminal Code (organization and participation in the activities of an unregistered organization). It is known that no less than three criminal cases have been instituted under this article since its return to Belarusian legislation, one of which resulted in a verdict.
3. The Belarusian authorities widely practice excessive interference in the activities of NGOs: inspections, searches, calls for interviews with law enforcement agencies, and special services of representatives of organizations. Any undesirable organization can be liquidated, in the case of non-profit institutions, even without a court decision. Since 2021, at least 1,950 NGOs have been forcibly liquidated or forced to make a decision about liquidating themselves.
4. Over a hundred representatives of civil society organizations, including 5 human rights defenders and 27 trade union representatives, remain imprisoned.
5. The practice of using the legislation on countering extremism to prosecute activists, intimidate people participating in the activities and events of civil society organizations (CSOs), and providing financial support to CSOs and their target groups is widespread. 307 CSOs, yard communities, and media resources are recognized as extremist formations, and the information resources of hundreds of CSOs are recognized as extremist materials.
6. To suppress civic activity, the authorities exert pressure on activists and representatives of civil society who have been forced to go abroad. Criminal cases are initiated against participants of actions abroad, and their property is seized. Special (in absentia) proceedings have been initiated against at least 153 people, including human rights defenders, analysts, and other CSO representatives.
7. NGOs within Belarus are significantly limited in their access to both internal and external funding. Foreign gratuitous assistance, which also includes assistance from Belarusians living abroad, is subject to prior registration in any amount. Legislation provides for a narrow list of purposes for which such assistance can be used. Registration of aid can be refused for any reason, including the reason of inexpediency of its receipt and use.
8. Many CSO representatives were forced to leave Belarus and continue to leave abroad due to large-scale repressions, where they are still experiencing problems with legalization, etc.
9. Some of the CSOs continue to stay and work in Belarus, including in registered status. Some new NGOs are being registered. Thus, during the monitoring period, the Public Association «Cultural and Educational Organization of the Kazakhs «Dostar» and the Cultural and Educational Public Association «Moskovskoe Zemlyachestvo» were registered. The government directs significant efforts to nationalize the non-commercial sector, involving NGOs in support of the state ideology, developing various events, programs, and projects for this purpose.

Liquidation of non-profit organizations

During the monitoring period, a decision on forced liquidation was made in relation to at least one non-governmental institution, which is the Private Cultural Institution «Museum of the History of the First World War» (in Minsk).

It is also known that at least one public association decided on self-liquidation:  a Public Association «Investment Club «DEKRO». Significantly, like many public associations that have decided to liquidate recently, this organization was active — it submitted reports on its activities to the registration body in 2023 and 2024.

As of August 31, 2025, from 2021, according to the monitoring conducted by Lawtrend, total losses in the civil society sector, starting from the post-election period of 2020, amount to at least 1,950 institutionalized non-profit organizations (public associations, trade unions, political parties, foundations, non-governmental institutions, associations).

Administrative and criminal prosecution of the leadership and members of civil society organizations, as well as other forms of pressure on civil society organizations

In connection with the performance of their professional activities, participation in civil society organizations, and the manifestation of civic activism, at least 5 representatives of human rights organizations, dozens of representatives of civil society organizations and religious organizations, and 27 representatives of trade unions and the labor movementcontinue to serve prison sentences^[1].

Criminal cases against representatives of CSOs continue to be initiated, and CSO representatives continue to be held criminally liable. Most charges against members and participants of CSOs are based on so-called “extremist” articles, such as assisting extremist activity, leadership and participation in an extremist formation, and financing extremist activity. The practice of prosecuting individuals who provide support to CSOs and/or their target groups has become widespread.

The Minsk City Court issued a verdict against Aliaksandr Mazur, Pavel Karaniukhin, and Aliaksandr Lykshyn, accused of “participation in an extremist formation” (Article 361¹ of the Criminal Code) in connection with the “pismo.bel” initiative, which is a service that allowed people to send letters to places of detention. The initiative was recognized as an “extremist formation” a month after their arrest. Mazur and Karaniukhin were sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison, while Lykshyn was sentenced to 3 years and 7 months in a high-security regime. Each of them was also fined 1,000 base units.

On August 8, the Minsk City Court sentenced Yauhen Krasnianski to 7.5 years in a high-security penal colony under Part 1 of Article 356 (state treason) and Part 1 of Article 243³ (evasion of insurance contributions leading to damage in particularly large sizes), as well as a fine of 25,000 Belarusian rubles. According to the Investigative Committee, Yauhen prepared a sociological study for a foreign organization, which contained deliberately false information about the country’s health policy in relation to measures taken against the coronavirus infection.

The Belarusian authorities actively persecute Belarusians forced to go abroad, trying to suppress any civic activity. For these purposes, legislation on special (in absentia) proceedings is widely used. Exiled Belarusians are intimidated by threats of criminal prosecution for participating in events abroad, criminal cases are regularly initiated for participation in solidarity actions, real estate is seized and confiscated, and relatives of exiled Belarusians face pressure inside Belarus.

As of the end of August 2025, 153 people have been included in the List of persons subject to special proceedings and summoned to the criminal prosecution body (the document is available in Russian). During the monitoring period, special proceedings were initiated against members of the initiative “Honest People.”

Special proceedings have begun against Wargaming co-owner Mikalai Katsalapau, charged under Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 361² (financing extremist activities) and Part 2 of Article 290¹ of the Criminal Code (financing terrorist activities). Earlier, the ONT TV channel aired a report claiming that Katsalapau had been making donations for several years to “extremist and terrorist funds” amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency transfers.

The Homel Regional Court sentenced in absentia BYSOL head Andrei Stryzhak and BY_Help founder Aliaksei Liavonchyk to 18 years in a penal colony and a fine of 6,000 base units (252,000 Belarusian rubles) each. The founders of funds assisting victims of repression were charged under 17 articles of the Criminal Code, including Article 361¹ (creation of an extremist formation or participation in it), Part 2 of Article 361² (financing extremist activities), and Part 2 of Article 290¹ (financing terrorist activities). Fund staff members Yaraslau Likhacheuski, Aliaksei Kuzmiankou, Aliaksandr Lapko, Aliaksandr Padhorny, and Aliaksandra Zhuk were sentenced to 16 years in prison and fined 5,500 base units (Belarusian 231,000 rubles) each.

According to the Investigative Committee, another 207 participants of Freedom Day celebrations in 2025 in Poland, the USA, Lithuania, Canada, and the UK have been identified. It was reported that criminal cases were opened against them under Part 2 of Article 361⁴ of the Criminal Code (assistance to extremist activity), search warrants and property seizure orders were issued, and the question of initiating special proceedings against them is under consideration.

By the end of August, 307 entities were included in the List of organizations, formations, and individual entrepreneurs involved in extremist activities. Among those recognized as extremist formations were the coalition of initiatives “Green Network,” including projects “Belarus Beehive,” “Green Portal,” and “Ecohome,” as well as the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers.

During the monitoring period, the Republican List of Extremist Materials (the document is available in Russian) was updated to include the websites and online pages “Belarus Beehive” and “Belarus Beehive 2.0,” the Instagram accounts “pressclubbelarus” and “defenders.by,” information published on the Telegram channel “Fundacja Tutaka,” and the Instagram pages “free_marfa” (a solidarity page for Viasna human rights defender Marfa Rabkova) and “belfilmacademy,” as well as the websites and social media pages of the European Humanities University.

On August 8, 2025, Brest journalist Aleh Supruniuk was sentenced to three years in prison under Part 3 of Article 361¹ of the Criminal Code (participation in an extremist formation). According to the Brest Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Aleh Suprunyuk was accused of participating in the “Belarusian Association of Journalists,” recognized as an “extremist formation,” and of writing articles for it.

Financing

Since 2021, Belarus has seen a steady trend toward the state-appropriation of the non-profit sector. The authorities are interested in engaging non-profit organizations in disseminating state ideology while at the same time performing state functions, especially in providing services in the social sphere. To this end, the government pursues a dual policy: on the one hand, implementing harsh repressive measures by banning the activities of unwanted organizations; on the other hand, drawing non-profit organizations into the “state field” by initiating joint events, inviting representatives of certain NGOs to participate in various conferences, seminars, and working meetings, and holding competitions to support civic initiatives.

Applications are open until September 15 for the President’s grant in the field of youth policy for 2026. These grants are awarded to “support projects in priority areas such as civic-patriotic education, healthy lifestyle, and other initiatives contributing to the country’s social-economic development.” The legal basis for awarding grants is Presidential Decree No. 425 of September 13, 2013, “On Presidential Grants of the Republic of Belarus in the fields of science, education, healthcare, culture, and youth policy.” According to the document, grants are provided to leaders and specialists of organizations who have made a significant contribution to the development of youth policy and who are implementing projects aligned with the priority areas of state policy.

The grants are paid monthly for one year from the President’s reserve fund. Their size amounts to 41 base units (during the monitoring period, 1 base unit = 42 Belarusian rubles, which totals about 1,722 Belarusian rubles per month).

The authorities are also interested in attracting foreign gratuitous aid to the country, the growth of which is observed mainly due to Russian funding. To facilitate the inflow of foreign aid, the Department for Humanitarian Activities regularly organizes seminars and working meetings on this topic in educational institutions and local executive bodies. Regular meetings with UN agencies and structures are also held at the Department.

For instance, on August 20, 2025, the Department for Humanitarian Activities held a working meeting with the National Coordinator of the Global Environment Foundation’s Small Grants Programme in Belarus. The meeting discussed projects implemented within the framework of the Small Grants Programme in Belarus, the current situation regarding the financing of new projects under the programme, and prospects for further cooperation.

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^[1] Examples of the presence of representatives of civil society organizations in places of deprivation of liberty, information about inclusion in extremist and/or terrorist lists can be found in Lawtrend’s monthly reviews on the situation with freedom of association and the situation of civil society organizations, for example, for May 2024. Information about detained members of trade unions and activists of the trade union movement is published according to Salidarnast.