Belarus’s Interior Ministry has added another 29 people to the “List of Citizens of the Republic of Belarus, Foreign Citizens or Stateless Persons Involved in Extremist Activities.”
Among those included are an energy worker from Hrodna, Yauhen Dorakhau, and 24 others convicted of “facilitating extremist activity.”
As noted by the human rights center Viasna, the list also includes 69-year-old Minsk resident Volha Tsikhanavetskaya, who was convicted of “insulting Lukashenka.” The woman was sentenced by the Minsk City Court under Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code (facilitating extremist activity) and Part 1 of Article 368 (insulting Lukashenka). She was likely given a form of restricted freedom, commonly known as “home chemistry.”
The list now contains 6,402 names.
Belarusian authorities regularly use extremism-related charges to target political opponents and dissent more broadly.
