Ministry of Internal Affairs recognised telegram channels NEXTA, NEXTA Live and LUXTA as "extremist formations"
The Belarusian Ministry of Internal Affairs has classified three of the country’s most popular opposition social media channels as “extremist” organisations, meaning that people can face up to seven years in prison for subscribing to them.
Social media channels such as Telegram messenger were widely used during mass street protests against President Alexander Lukashenko last year to coordinate demonstrations and share footage of a violent police crackdown.
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs has made a decision to recognize a group of citizens carrying out extremist activities through the Telegram channels NEXTA, NEXTA-Live and LUXTA, an extremist organization and prohibiting its activities,”
- the ministry said in a statement
The NEXTA news outlet, run by a Belarusian exile in Poland, has three channels on Telegram, including NEXTA Live, which has nearly one million subscribers in a country of 9.5 million.
Previously, anyone who reposted material from NEXTA risked a fine or detention for 30 days. But the new classification means subscribers could be prosecuted for participating in an “extremist” organization and be jailed for up to seven years.
“1.4 million more extremists appeared in Belarus today. Ministry of Internal Affairs recognized telegram channels NEXTA, NEXTA Live, and LUXTA as ‘extremist formations’. This means that criminal cases can be opened against creators, administrators, and subscribers in #Belarus.”
- NEXTA wrote in a tweet.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Germany criticized what it called the blocking by Belarus of the news website of German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, urging Minsk to restore access “immediately”.
Germany’s ambassador in Minsk has taken up the complaint with the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demanded a reversal of the decision, a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry said.
Deutsche Welle said in a statement that access to its online services had been hindered by the Belarusian information ministry.
The broadcaster said the Belarus government had explained the move, which also targeted other media outlets, by claiming that Deutsche Welle was posting “extremist” content.