Interior Ministry’s list of “extremists” not updated for more than a month, Telegram channel disappears

Belarus's Interior Ministry has not published its list of "extremists" in open access for more than a month. It used to be updated every Friday, and the last update came out on 25 September. The ministry's page currently offers the list as updated on 18 September.

The register, known in Belarus as the "list of extremists", is compiled by the Interior Ministry. It includes "persons involved in extremist activity".

The Telegram channel "Extremists of Belarus", which posted information every week about people recognised as "extremists", is also unavailable. Its last post is dated 18 September. The channel was probably deleted on 25 September, the day the last update of the list came out.

The 25 September update was removed from the Interior Ministry's website almost immediately. Ten days later, on 8 October, a notice appeared on the site saying that the "extremist" lists were unavailable for supposed "technical reasons".

A new channel, "extremistybelarus", has appeared to replace the old one. So far it has a single post urging people to switch to another Telegram channel, and human rights defenders noticed the message.

The human rights centre Viasna, founded in 1996 and based in Minsk, points out that the disappearance of the list does not mean the human rights situation has improved: politically motivated detentions and trials in Belarus continue every day. In the view of human rights defenders, the disappearance of public sources may indicate an attempt by the authorities to hide the real scale of repression. Belarusian authorities have designated Viasna an extremist organisation.

The procedure for publishing the list is set by Council of Ministers resolution No. 575 of 12 October 2021, "On measures to counter extremism and the rehabilitation of Nazism". Under it, court rulings must reach the ministry within three days of taking effect. The Interior Ministry is obliged to enter the information in the list on the same day it receives the document, and to post the updated list on its official website within five days.