Belarus has officially designated the website of an international news outlet as "extremist," a move that opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has condemned as an act of political revenge. According to Tsikhanouskaya, the restriction is direct retaliation for the broadcaster's objective coverage of the country's disputed 2020 presidential election, its reporting on political prisoners, and its coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine, which was partially launched from Belarusian territory.
The decision, issued by the Belarusian information ministry, placed the outlet's website on the state's "Republican List of Extremist Materials." Under Belarusian civil procedure rules, the ruling is subject to immediate execution. This designation effectively blocks access to the website inside Belarus and subjects anyone caught storing or distributing its content to administrative penalties. The television broadcast of the outlet had already been banned in the country since 2021.
Tsikhanouskaya described the regime's latest action as highly hypocritical, pointing out that authoritarian leader Aliaksandr Lukashenka had previously granted interviews to the broadcaster. She warned that the "extremist" label turns the simple act of reading or sharing independent news into a pretext for severe state repression.
Watching the outlet or visiting its website could now land citizens in jail, providing the state and its security agency, the KGB, with yet another excuse to target individuals seeking unbiased information, as well as journalists, contributors, and those assisting news organizations.
The ban comes just ahead of the sixth anniversary of the August 2020 election, which triggered an unprecedented wave of peaceful mass demonstrations against Lukashenka's claimed victory. The opposition, the European Union, and numerous Western governments rejected the election results as fraudulent. The regime responded with a sweeping and violent crackdown on protesters, activists, independent media, and civil society organizations.
According to Tsikhanouskaya, systemic and constant repression has now become the "modus operandi" of the entire state apparatus because the government fears that any relaxation of control would immediately trigger a new public uprising. She noted that arrests continue on a daily basis, though the true scale of the ongoing crackdown remains hidden because many detainees are not publicly identified.
Under this atmosphere of terror, visible public protest has been forced underground, but she maintained that the population has not given up and is quietly preparing for a new momentum.
Control over the flow of information remains central to the regime's survival, Tsikhanouskaya argued, noting that millions of Belarusians continue to follow independent outlets covertly by using virtual private networks (VPNs) and other censorship-circumvention tools.
She described independent media as the "backbone of our movement," noting that such reporting has helped ensure that most Belarusians understand the reality of the war in Ukraine and support the Ukrainian cause despite heavy state propaganda.
However, she warned that the state security services are adapting quickly, with the KGB frequently utilizing technology platforms to track, identify, and prosecute political opponents. To counter this, her team is actively working with major technology corporations, including Meta and Alphabet, to ensure their platforms are not exploited to facilitate state-sponsored persecution. Tsikhanouskaya urged citizens inside Belarus to make digital security an absolute priority.
She advised people to use VPNs, maintain separate devices dedicated to accessing independent media, regularly clear their phones, use online pseudonyms, and strictly avoid interacting with unknown accounts that could be KGB operations designed for recruitment or blackmail. She added that some independent outlets are using unbranded accounts to help audiences access information safely.
Despite the severe risks, Tsikhanouskaya urged the news organization not to be deterred by the designation, suggesting they view it as a "badge of honour" because many decent people and organizations have received the same label from the dictator, proving that their work truly matters. She insisted that the democratic movement has not been defeated but has transitioned from a sprint into a marathon.
She concluded by noting that Lukashenka's regime depends entirely on the Kremlin's support to survive. A victorious Ukraine and a weakened Russia could create the necessary opening for democratic change, and she urged Western partners to view Belarus not just as a problem, but as an opportunity to make Europe safer through a free, democratic, and independent future.
“Difficult conditions force us to be creative,” she said. “That is the only way to survive under a dictatorship.”
“Dictatorships often collapse when no one expects it,” she said.
