Pa message that appeared in a channel close to the Belarusian security forces that subscribers of Telegram channels recognized as extremist will face seven years in prison under a new decree of the government of the country turned out to be fake
The Government of Belarus has published the text of Resolution 575 “On measures to counter extremism and rehabilitate Nazism”. It was this document that the Telegram channel “GUBOP” referred to, which was previously associated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus. He said the day before that the document gives the right to consider subscribers of oppositional and recognized extremist Telegram channels as members of extremist formations.
The message received a great response in the media and social networks, because it said that subscribers of extremist Telegram channels face up to seven years in prison. It led to an outflow of users and subscribers of popular Belarusian opposition Telegram channels.
However, the text of the resolution, which was published only two days after the signing, does not mention Telegram channels and social networks, there are no new threats to subscribers or forum participants in it.
According to the Belarusian law “On Countering Extremism”, the last amendments to which were made in May 2021, organizations and individual entrepreneurs, both Belarusian and foreign, can be recognized as extremist only by a court decision. A court decision is also required to prohibit their activities.
However, article 15 of this law deals with countering the activities of extremist groups. There is no precise definition of the term “extremist formations” in the text of the law. At the same time, a decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the State Security Committee is sufficient to recognize a group of citizens as extremist. Those who disagree with this decision can appeal it in court.
“If signs are detected in the actions of a group of citizens indicating the implementation of activities provided for in Part 4 of Article 1 of this law, the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the State Security Committee decides to recognize such a group of citizens as an extremist formation, to ban its activities, which can be appealed to these bodies and (or) to the court,” the article says.
The counteraction measures described by this and other laws are applied to the participants of such groups (formations).
And according to Article 1 of the Law “On Countering Extremism”, extremist activities include::
- dissemination of deliberately false information about the political, economic, social, military or international situation of Belarus, the legal status of its citizens discrediting the country;
- insulting government officials, discrediting public authorities and management;
- incitement of racial, national, religious or other social enmity or discord; political or ideological enmity; enmity or discord against any social group;
- organization and implementation of mass riots, active participation in them on the grounds of racial, national, religious or other social enmity or discord; political or ideological enmity; enmity or discord against any social group;
- public calls for organizing or holding illegal meetings, rallies, street processions, etc. or public calls for all these actions, as well as public justification of such actions;
- obstruction of the activities of state bodies, including election commissions.
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