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Belarus’s Supreme Court has declared the European Humanities University, together with its structural subdivisions, an “extremist organisation”. Its activities, as well as the use of EHU symbols and attributes, are prohibited in Belarus. This was reported by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
It should be noted that the designation of EHU as an “extremist organisation” was announced on the ONT television channel as early as January 2024. In September last year, the Prosecutor General’s Office filed a corresponding application with the Supreme Court.
According to the head of a department at the Prosecutor General’s Office, Dzmitry Bryliou, EHU operates in Lithuania, and “its activities are supervised and financed by foreign states, including the European Union, as well as by non-governmental organisations and foundations”.
According to Bryliou, EHU is engaged in efforts aimed at “destabilising the socio-political situation in the country, providing methodological, organisational and financial assistance to representatives of radically politicised groups and destructive foreign non-governmental organisations, and is used by the special services of certain neighbouring states to damage Belarus’s interests in the political, humanitarian and information spheres”.
The Prosecutor General’s Office believes that the university is preparing Belarusian youth “to implement Western scenarios for transforming the political system, promoting so-called democratic values and ‘alternative’ interpretations of historical, cultural and other events”. To this end, EHU allegedly cooperates “with representatives of various extremist and terrorist organisations”. Bryliou did not name any such organisation.
He added that EHU uses “numerous internet resources, including social networks and messengers, whose information products have been recognised by Belarusian courts as extremist materials” to attract new supporters and secure funding.
“Since the university’s activities are aimed at encroaching on the independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, constitutional order and public security of the Republic of Belarus, and the criminal actions of a number of its lecturers and graduates have been confirmed by materials from criminal cases involving incitement of social hostility and discord, conspiracy to seize state power, calls for restrictive measures and the commission of other serious and especially serious crimes, the court authorised the immediate enforcement of its decision,” the department head concluded.
It should be noted that in Belarus, the authorities have used accusations of extremism in recent years to combat opponents and dissent more broadly.