{"id":533596,"date":"2026-04-14T11:44:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T08:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=533596"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:07:55","slug":"human-rights-coalition-demands-reversal-of-decisions-labeling-belarusian-pen-human-constanta-and-bhc-as-extremist-formations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/human-rights-coalition-demands-reversal-of-decisions-labeling-belarusian-pen-human-constanta-and-bhc-as-extremist-formations","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Coalition Demands Reversal of Decisions Labeling Belarusian PEN, Human Constanta and BHC as \u201cExtremist Formations\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The coalition of Belarusian human rights organizations issued a statement<\/a> regarding the designation of the organizations Belarusian PEN, Human Constanta and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee as \u201cextremist formations.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The authorities\u2019 decision to recognize these organizations as \u2018extremist formations\u2019 is politically motivated persecution connected with the peaceful exercise of people\u2019s rights and freedoms, carried out as part of the state\u2019s broad policy of persecuting dissenters. Part of this policy is the suppression of civic activism, the stigmatization of civil society organizations in general and the Belarusian human rights movement in particular,”<\/em> the statement says.<\/p>\n

It also emphasizes that “Belarusian anti-extremism legislation does not comply with international standards, lacks legitimate aims, is formulated broadly and abstractly, which gives excessive discretion to state bodies and allows them to arbitrarily apply legal provisions for the purpose of political repression.”<\/em> The real purpose of using this legislation, according to the statement, is to suppress any disagreement with the authorities\u2019 actions.<\/p>\n

“Thus, recognizing Belarusian PEN, Human Constanta, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and other organizations as \u2018extremist formations\u2019 constitutes unacceptable interference with the exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of association, which are rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Belarus is a party, and also violates rights enshrined in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. Moreover, the recognition of human rights organizations as \u2018extremist formations\u2019 is one of the acts of persecution constituting a crime against humanity within the meaning of the Rome Statute,”<\/em> the statement says.<\/p>\n

It is also noted that labeling human rights organizations as \u201cextremist formations\u201d violates the right to work and forms part of transnational repression.<\/p>\n

“In connection with the above, we demand that the Belarusian authorities:<\/em><\/p>\n