Source: www.forum18.org
Date: May 7, 2025
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
On 1 April, the KGB secret police ruled that Christian Vision, its website
and social media channels are "extremist" and are banned. The KGB
identified three of its leading members by name. The group documents
violations of freedom of religion or belief and other human rights. The
Interior Ministry added the group to its list of "extremist" organisations
on 8 April. The following day, police visited the home in Orsha of the
father of a group member and took his DNA. Two weeks later, the same
happened to his brother.
Between August 2023 and March 2024, several courts declared Christian
Vision's social media channels and logo "extremist" (see below).
Anyone who shares, copies or likes material from or provides information to
a site deemed "extremist" risks punishment under the Administrative or the
Criminal Code (see below).
The three Christian Vision members the KGB identified are Natallia
Vasilevich, Natallia Harkovich and Dzmitry Korneyenko. All three, who are
Orthodox Christians, are outside Belarus (see below).
Korneyenko said his father was too confused to ask Orsha police why they
needed his DNA, but his brother tried to find out. "When he asked the
police why they needed his DNA, they responded that it made it easier for
them to hunt for me," Korneyenko told Forum 18 (see below).
The duty officer at Orsha District Police refused to answer any questions
as to why officers had visited Korneyenko's relatives and why they needed
to take DNA samples. He referred Forum 18 to its head, Dmitry Borodavko.
However, he did not answer his phone (see below).
Korneyenko indicated that visits to his relatives are not unusual. "They
visit with varying frequency (sometimes investigators, sometimes police
officers), but these days they have slightly expanded their schedule of
visits," he noted. "But taking DNA – that's something new" (see below).
Korneyenko is also wanted on criminal charges related to non-religious
public activity (see below).
Neither the KGB, nor the Interior Ministry nor the courts have ever
informed Christian Vision of their "extremism" declarations. "We only found
out when the [extremism] lists were updated," Orthodox theologian and human
rights defender Vasilevich, the group's coordinator, told Forum 18 (see
below).
"The decision is not unexpected - it follows the logic of oppression of any
independent voice," Vasilevich added. "Sooner or later this destiny awaits
everyone." She worries that the designation "might jeopardise the situation
of those Christians still in Belarus who cooperate with us and give us
information" (see below).
Telephones at the KGB secret police in Minsk went unanswered each time
Forum 18 called. The telephones of the press secretary of the Interior
Ministry in Minsk, Natalya Sakharchuk, and her deputy went unanswered each
time Forum 18 called (see below).
The woman who answered the phone at the office in Minsk of the
Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak put the
phone down when Forum 18 introduced itself (see below).
On 16 April, the Interior Ministry declared what it believes to be a
one-person organisation "Priest Barok" "extremist" and banned. This
includes Catholic priest Fr Vyacheslav Barok, his YouTube, Facebook and
Telegram sites, and his personal email address. On 2 May, a court in Minsk
Region declared Fr Barok's TikTok account "extremist". Fr Barok fled to
neighbouring Poland in 2021 to escape prosecution. He is wanted in Belarus
and Russia on criminal charges (see below).
Concept of extremism "can be applied to any sphere of human activity"
Article 12 of the new Religion Law that came into force on 5 July 2024
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
are on either the "List of organisations and individuals involved in
terrorist activities" or the "List of citizens of the Republic of Belarus,
foreign citizens or stateless persons involved in extremist activities"
(https://humanconstanta.org/en
from being leaders or founders of registered religious organisations.
The regime maintains multiple similar lists targeting anyone, any
organisation, any document, any communication, or any website the regime
dislikes, including the Information Ministry's "Republican List of
Extremist Materials (https://www.forum18.org/archi
As of 7 May, it runs to 1,654 pages.
Human rights groups – such as Viasna (Spring) (https://spring96.org/) and
Human Constanta (https://humanconstanta.org/) – and independent media
outlets are among the many groups courts, the Interior Ministry or the KGB
secret police have declared "extremist".
Anyone who shares, copies or likes material from a site deemed "extremist"
risks punishment under Administrative Code Article 19.11 ("Distribution,
production, storage and transportation of information products containing
calls for extremist activities, or promoting such activities").
Anyone joining or providing information or an interview to such a site
risks punishment under Criminal Code Article 361-1 ("Creation of or
participation in an extremist organisation") or Criminal Code Article 361-4
("Supporting extremist activity").
Human Constanta notes
(https://humanconstanta.org/en
that "prosecution for 'extremism' has often taken absurd forms", including
for songs and memes. "However, the consequences of such repression are far
from humorous."
The then United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in Belarus, Anaïs Marin, warned in an August 2023 report to the UN General
Assembly (A/78/327 (https://docs.un.org/A/78/327)
extremism contained in the law on countering extremism can be applied to
any sphere of human activity".
Marin added: "it can be applied not only to various forms of freedom of
association, peaceful assembly or freedom of expression, but also to all
civil society activities, primarily owing to broad formulations and the
wide range of interpretation powers granted to authorities. Any form of
expression, civic activism and political opposition can fall under the
'extremism' label."
KGB declares Christian Vision group "extremist"
Human rights defenders from various Christian Churches across Belarus
formed the group Christian Vision (https://belarus2020.churchby.
September 2020, amid protests against the falsified presidential elections,
to document violations of freedom of religion or belief and other human
rights. (The group is currently registered, under the name Christian Vision
for Belarus, in Lithuania.)
Between August 2023 and March 2024, several courts declared Christian
Vision's Telegram channel (twice), Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte
and Odnoklassniki pages, and logo "extremist"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
On 1 April 2025, the KGB secret police ruled that Christian Vision, its
website and social media channels are "extremist" and are banned. Also
identified were three people linked to the group: Natallia Vasilevich,
Natallia Harkovich and Dzmitry Korneyenko. (All three, who are Orthodox
Christians, are outside Belarus.) The decision came into force on being
issued. The Interior Ministry added the group to its list of "extremist"
organisations on 8 April.
Neither the KGB, nor the Interior Ministry nor the courts has ever informed
Christian Vision of their "extremism" declarations. "We only found out when
the [extremism] lists were updated," Orthodox theologian and human rights
defender Vasilevich, the group's coordinator, told Forum 18 on 6 May.
"We understand the decision of the KGB as their recognition of Christian
Vision's ecumenical, human rights and anti-war work," Vasilevich added.
"The decision is not unexpected - it follows the logic of oppression of any
independent voice. Sooner or later this destiny awaits everyone."
Vasilevich said being branded an "extremist" organisation would not affect
Christian Vision's work. "However, it might jeopardise the situation of
those Christians still in Belarus who cooperate with us and give us
information. They will have to be more cautious and careful about their
security while communicating with us."
Vasilevich worries that the decision might make monitoring of freedom of
religion or belief violations more difficult. "At present, information from
the ground is the only source about persecutions."
Telephones at the KGB secret police in Minsk went unanswered each time
Forum 18 called between 29 April and 7 May.
The telephones of the press secretary of the Interior Ministry in Minsk,
Natalya Sakharchuk, and her deputy went unanswered each time Forum 18
called on 7 May.
The woman who answered the phone at the office in Minsk of the
Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs Aleksandr Rumak put the
phone down on 7 May when Forum 18 introduced itself.
Police raids, DNA extraction follow "extremist" declaration
On 9 April, the day after the Interior Ministry added the Christian Vision
group to its list of "extremist" organisations, police in the town of Orsha
in Vitebsk Region visited Viktor Korneyenko, the father of Dzmitry
Korneyenko, one of those listed by the KGB secret police as a participant
of Christian Vision. Officers "even took his DNA. My father was confused
and did not ask much about why," Korneyenko noted on Facebook on 10 April.
The following day, 10 April, police visited Korneyenko's mother-in-law in
Vitebsk.
On 23 April, police visited Korneyenko's brother in Orsha. They also took
his DNA. "When he asked the police why they needed his DNA, they responded
that it made it easier for them to hunt for me," Korneyenko told Forum 18
on 6 May.
The duty officer at Orsha District Police refused to answer any questions
as to why officers had visited Korneyenko's relatives and why they needed
to take DNA samples. He referred Forum 18 on 7 May to its head, Dmitry
Borodavko. However, he did not answer his phone that day.
Korneyenko indicated that such visits are not unusual. "They visit with
varying frequency (sometimes investigators, sometimes police officers), but
these days they have slightly expanded their schedule of visits," he noted
on Facebook. "But taking DNA – that's something new," he told Forum 18.
Korneyenko is also involved in a project in which Christian Vision takes
part, Christians Against War (https://shaltnotkill.info/). Its website and
social media channels chronicle prosecutions of clergy and believers in
Russia and Belarus who oppose Russia's war against Ukraine, as well as the
sacking and defrocking of Moscow Patriarchate priests who oppose the war.
Its website was blocked in Russia in September 2023
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
declared it "extremist" in 2024 (see below).
Belarus has launched several criminal cases against Korneyenko. One, on
charges of "supporting an extremist organisation", is for an interview he
gave to the Polish-funded television station Belsat in March 2022 from the
Ukrainian city of Odessa criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Because
of these criminal cases opened against him in Belarus, Russia put him on
its Federal Wanted List
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
On 21 April 2025, the KGB secret police banned as "extremist" People's
Deputy, another group Korneyenko is involved in that monitors the activity
of local administrations. "In fact, I am now a three-time participant in
extremist formations," Korneyenko noted on Facebook on 2 May. "Imagine how
much more the security forces have to work on me."
Exiled priest's Youtube channel among others declared "extremist"
On 16 April 2025, the Interior Ministry declared what it believes to be a
one-person organisation "Priest Barok" "extremist" and banned. This
includes Catholic priest Fr Vyacheslav Barok, his YouTube, Facebook and
Telegram sites, and his personal email address.
On 2 May, Dzerzhinsky District Court in Minsk Region declared Fr Barok's
TikTok account "extremist" (though the last video posted to the account was
from October 2022). The Information Ministry added it to its Republican
List of Extremist Materials.
Fr Barok fled to neighbouring Poland in 2021 to escape prosecution. In
October 2022, a court in Vitebsk Region banned as "extremist" a YouTube
interview with Fr Barok. The video was similarly added to the Information
Ministry's Republican List of Extremist Materials. Before February 2024,
Russia added Fr Barok to its Federal Wanted List
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Belarus.
On 12 January 2025, the KGB secret police ruled that the Democratic Media
Institute, its founders and online materials are "extremist" and are
banned. The Institute, based in Lithuania, supports independent media in
the region, particularly on Belarus. The KGB identified Orthodox priest Fr
Aleksandr Kukhta as among the founders. Among the online content the KGB
banned as "extremist" in its 12 January decision is Fr Aleksandr's YouTube
channel Batushka Otvetit (https://www.youtube.com/@Alia
he comments on faith and current affairs.
Fr Aleksandr and another Orthodox priest Fr Georgi Roi left Belarus in
April 2023. They then left the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate and
the Ecumenical Patriarchate accepted them. They serve in its parish in the
Lithuanian capital Vilnius. In October 2023, a Baranovichi court declared
the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Orthodox parish in Vilnius
"extremist" (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Russia added Fr Georgi to its Federal Wanted List
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Belarus.
On 23 January 2024, Baranovichi District and City Court declared Christians
Against War's Telegram channel "extremist".
In July 2024, the Information Ministry blocked access to independent
Catholic news website Katolik.life (https://katolik.life) in Belarus. In
August 2024, a court in Minsk Region declared Katolik.life's Telegram
channel "extremist" (https://www.forum18.org/archi
In August 2023, decisions from several courts declared some of New Life
Full Gospel Church's online materials "extremist"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
already been blocked. In June 2023, officials bulldozed New Life's church
building (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Court in Minsk upheld the liquidation of the Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Among the other banned "extremist materials"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Greek Catholic news website, an introduction to Orthodoxy published in
Russia's capital Moscow, and numerous Muslim books. Anyone who distributes
any of these works risks criminal prosecution. (END)
More reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Belarus
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
For background information, see Forum 18's Belarus religious freedom survey
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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