In Belarus, a law was passed in two readings at once, which will allow the authorities to deprive the citizenship of those who were convicted under extremist articles, as well as those who are found guilty of “causing grievous harm to the interests of Belarus, if such a person is outside the country.”
First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs – Head of the Public Security Militia Yuri Nazarenko said that the law was necessary for "the stability of the socio-political system, the liberalization of its individual provisions."
It is not difficult to become a defendant in an extremism case in Belarus, as in Russia. You can become an extremist for reposting information objectionable to the authorities. The law "On Justification of Extremism" was adopted in the country in 2007, then it was modified. According to lawyers, the definition of extremism in it is very broad and vague, it contains 500 words and describes 18 forms of activity that are considered extremist. Some of the 18 listed forms of extremism entail administrative, some – criminal liability.
They can be prosecuted under five articles of the Criminal Code:
- 130 of the Criminal Code "Inciting racial, national, religious or other social hatred or discord"
- 130−1 of the Criminal Code "Rehabilitation of Nazism"
- 361-1 of the Criminal Code "Creation of an extremist formation or participation in it"
- 361-2 of the Criminal Code "Financing of extremist activities"
- 361-4 of the Criminal Code "Assistance to extremist activity"
According to two of them, for example, one of the Belarusian leaders of the protest against the falsification of the presidential elections in 2020, Maria Kolesnikova, was convicted. During the election campaign, she was the head of the election headquarters of Viktor Babariko, a member of the presidium of the Coordinating Council. After the falsification of elections and the beginning of the next presidential term of Alexander Lukashenko, she was convicted and given 11 years in prison.