The ISHR’s social media accounts have been classified as ‘extremist material’ in Belarus

The human rights organisation is not deterred by this designation and will continue its work on Belarus. In the Republic of Belarus, the long-standing dictator Lukashenko rules with brutal severity and has thousands of people arrested on arbitrary grounds. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have left the country since the rigged elections of 2020, whilst thousands more have been sentenced to long prison terms within the country.

Frankfurt am Main, 13 March 2026 – Important notice to our Belarusian followers. Any interaction with our content may now result in legal consequences in Belarus. Please read the following information and take the necessary precautions to ensure your safety. 

The Belarusian authorities have classified the social media accounts (Instagram, X and Facebook) of the German branch of the ISHR as extremist. This is based on a ruling by the Horezk District Court in the Mahiljou region (Russian: Mogiljow or Mogilew) dated 10 March 2026. This means that any interaction with our content, including liking, sharing, reposting or even following our channels, is now a criminal offence under Belarusian law.

In many cases, individuals have faced administrative and criminal charges solely on the basis of their collaboration with organisations that campaign for human rights and democracy.

If you live in Belarus or are travelling there, we strongly recommend that you do the following: 

• Unfollow us on all our social media accounts.
• Please delete all likes, reposts or links to content or the ISHR website.
• Please do not share or save our materials. If you have ever downloaded any materials that feature the ISHR logo or a reference to the ISHR, please delete them. 
• We urge you to take these precautions for your own safety.

This is yet another sign of Lukashenko’s state-sponsored terror, as he cracks down on hundreds of thousands of people in Belarus. The ISHR will continue to report on human rights violations in Belarus and campaign for the release of political prisoners.

The human rights organisation welcomes the preliminary investigation into the Republic of Belarus published by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 12 March 2026. According to the ICC, there are reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the meaning of the Rome Statute have been committed, at least in part on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, which were promoted or condoned by the authorities and the highest levels of government of the Republic of Belarus. The ICC cites coercive measures by Belarusian authorities that led to the deportation of actual or perceived opponents of the Belarusian government.