Monitoring of the situation with freedom of association and the status of civil society organizations in the Republic of Belarus March 2025
In March 2025, large-scale repressions in Belarus against Belarusian civil society organizations and individuals both within the country and those forced into exile continued.
Over a hundred representatives of civil society organizations, including members of trade unions and religious groups, remain imprisoned. They get included on lists of individuals involved in extremist and/or terrorist activities. Providing assistance to or financing extremist activities, creating, leading, or participating in extremist formations are among the most common charges used to impose lengthy prison sentences on activists. The number of such “extremist formations” continues to grow, and civil society organizations including those that have already been forcibly liquidated are increasingly being labeled as such. Blocking access to internet resources within Belarus has become a widespread practice.
The practice of intimidation and pressure against activists abroad also continues. This includes the initiation and consideration of criminal cases in special (in absentia) proceedings. The Investigative Committee reported the opening of criminal cases against around 400 individuals who participated in protests abroad on January 26 (the so-called “president election day”), warned of punishment for those taking part in demonstrations on March 25 (Freedom Day) and announced the identification of 260 individuals who participated in the demonstrations that day.
Since the post-election period in 2020, the Belarusian public sector has suffered the loss of no fewer than 1,917 institutionalized forms of non-profit organizations (including public associations, trade unions, political parties, foundations, non-governmental institutions, and associations). During the current monitoring period, the number of liquidated organizations increased by 12 due to voluntary liquidation decisions made by the organizations themselves.
As part of the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council, an interactive dialogue was held during which a group of independent experts presented a report on the human rights situation in Belarus and shared information about their ongoing work.
Liquidation of non-profit organizations
The campaign of forced liquidation of non-profit organizations (excluding religious organizations) has been suspended. However, threats of liquidation remain a common practice, particularly from regional registration authorities, targeting public associations.
Since July 6, 2024, a re-registration campaign for all religious organizations in Belarus has been underway, set to continue until July 5, 2025. Upon completion of this campaign, a significant decrease in the number of registered religious organizations in the country is expected.
Non-profit organizations continue to actively make decisions to self-liquidate voluntarily. During the monitoring period, at least 12 non-profit organizations were recorded as having made such decisions through their members or founders.
The decision to self-liquidate for non-profit organizations in Belarus is primarily linked to the unprecedented level of repression in the country, an unfavorable legal environment, and sustained pressure on the independent civil society sector as a whole, as well as on specific organizations, their leadership, members, and staff.
As of March 31, 2025, according to monitoring conducted by Lawtrend[1], 1,188 non-profit organizations have been recorded as being in the process of forced liquidation. This includes cases where the registration authorities filed lawsuits for liquidation or where organizations were forcibly removed from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs. Additionally, at least 729 non-profit organizations (including public associations, foundations, institutions, and a political party) have been voluntarily dissolved by the decision of their members or founders, according to the monitoring conducted by Lawtrend.
New Criminal Case under Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (Leadership or Participation in the Activities of an Unregistered Organization)
On January 4, 2022, the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 144-Z «On Amendments to the Codes» was adopted and entered into force on January 22, 2022. It was reintroduced into the Criminal Code Article 193-1, which criminalizes the organization of and participation in the activities of unregistered organizations. This provision had previously been removed from the Criminal Code in July 2019. The article applies to the organization of and participation in unregistered public associations, including political parties and trade unions, religious organizations, as well as foundations.
Until recently, only two criminal cases under this article were reliably known. One involved the former head of the Public Charitable Organization “Hrodna Children’s Hospice” (liquidated by a decision of the Hrodna Regional Court on August 20, 2021) Volha Vialichka, who was convicted in absentia, among other charges under Article 193-1, and sentenced to one year of imprisonment.
The other case concerned officials of the Kleryhata LLC (ТАА «Клерыгата» in Belarusian or ООО «Клеригата» in Russian) which, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office, was carrying out the goals and objectives of an unregistered public association (namely, the unregistered Union of Poles), in violation of the legal registration requirements in Belarus.
During the current monitoring period, it became known that 15 individuals were detained and identified as suspects in a criminal case initiated under Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code. According to the Investigative Committee, these individuals were leaders and members of the unregistered religious organization “IVDIVO,” which had been illegally operating throughout the country.
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 6 representatives of human rights organisations, dozens of representatives of civil society organizations and religious organizations, and 29 representatives of trade unions and the labour movement[2] continue to serve prison sentences. Pressure on representatives of religious organizations continues.
The Investigative Committee of Belarus has initiated another (third) criminal case against human rights defender and former political prisoner Leanid Sudalenka under charges of “facilitating extremist activities”.
Access to the Legalize Belarus website has been restricted by the order of the Minsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the website published not factually accurate “fake” information intended to mislead the public into falsely believing that certain crimes against public health posed no societal danger, and to promote the legalization of the free circulation and use of narcotic substances, and that their use was harmless. The website is also reported as “containing links to the websites of extremist formations, as well as reports on the activities of «democratic forces» based abroad”.
Legislation on counteracting extremism continues to be actively applied to representatives of civil society organizations: prosecution for financial transfers to solidarity funds, as well as assistance to political prisoners and their families, including criminal charges, recognition of public initiatives as extremist formations, and their informational resources as extremist materials.
During the monitoring period, the Republican List of Extremist Materials was updated to include content published on the «eurobelarus» Instagram account, the «BELPOL» website, the Telegram bot «Digital Intelligence Team [bot],» materials from the group «KOTOS» («КОТОС»), the website «Heta Moladź» («Гэта Моладзь»), the «A Country for Life» («Страна Для Жизни») account on Odnoklassniki, the «Society for Peace and Justice Protection» («Общество защиты мира и Справедливости») community on VKontakte, social media pages and the Telegram channel of «Belarusian Christian Democracy» («Беларуская Хрысьцiянская Дэмакратыя»), the «Haradzenskaya Pravaabarona» («Гарадзенская Праваабарона») Facebook page, information materials from the websites of the «Art Siadziba» («Арт Сядзiба») group.
Materials from diaspora organizations are also regularly designated as extremist. In the current period, this includes the “Belarusians in Warsaw” («Беларусы ў Варшаве») Instagram account, and Telegram groups “Belarusian Refugees in Poland” («Беларуские беженцы Польши») and “Belarusians of Latvia” («Беларусы Латвіі»).
By decisions of the State Security Committee (KGB), the following were designated as extremist formations: the public project «Nastaunik.info» (whose information resources were labeled extremist in the previous monitoring period), the «Democratic Media Institute» project (supporting media initiatives tied to Belarusian culture and identity), and the organization «Center for New Ideas» («Центр новых идей»). According to the Human Rights Center “Viasna,” at least 258 individuals have been convicted in Belarus for «creating or participating in an extremist formation,» including 58 in absentia.
Belarusian authorities continue to exert pressure on Belarusians forced into exile, as well as on their relatives remaining in the country. The Investigative Committee announced a set of investigative and procedural actions as part of a criminal case against participants and organizers of anti-Belarusian demonstrations held abroad on January 26 (the so-called presidential election day). Approximately 400 individuals have been identified as suspects, searches have been conducted, and property and real estate have been seized to allegedly compensate the state for incurred “damages.” The Investigative Committee has also warned Belarusians that participation in Freedom Day (March 25) demonstrations could lead to criminal prosecution. According to pro-government propaganda channels, 260 individuals were identified following Freedom Day rallies and are likely to face criminal charges.
Criminal legislation on special (in absentia) proceedings is being used to suppress civic activity among Belarusians abroad. As of the end of March 2025, 145 individuals have been added to the “List of persons subject to special proceedings and summoned to law enforcement bodies for prosecution.”
[1] The monitoring only records cases of forced liquidation and self- liquidation of non-state non-profit organizations. State institutions and republican state-public associations are not included in the quantitative data. Also excluded from the count are consumer cooperatives and other legal forms of non-profit organizations aside from public associations such as trade unions, political parties, foundations, private institutions, and associations.
[2] Examples of representatives of civil society organizations being held in places of detention with liberty deprivation sentences, as well as information on individuals listed in extremist and/or terrorist registries can be found in Lawtrend’s monthly reviews of the situation with Freedom of association and the situation of civil society organizations, for example, for May 2024. Information about detained trade union members and trade union activists is published based on Solidarity data.