Amid a continued clampdown on independent media and civil society, Belarusian authorities have added Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, to its registry of extremist organizations.
The Belarusian Information Ministry said on January 11 that the decision made by a court in the northeastern city of Vitsebsk last week applies to Current Time's website, associated projects, and its social media outlets, such as channels on the Telegram platform.
Current Time is on air every day, broadcasting to Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe.
In December 2021, Belarus’s Interior Ministry labeled RFE/RL's Belarus Service, known locally as Radio Svaboda, extremist as well.
Belarusian laws say those who subscribe to websites of organizations officially labeled as extremist could be prosecuted and may face up to six years in prison.
Authorities in Belarus have declared hundreds of Telegram channels, blogs and chatrooms as “extremist” since the country was engulfed by protests following the August 2020 presidential election, which handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term.
In response, the government has cracked down hard on the pro-democracy movement, arresting thousands of people and pushing most of the top opposition figures out of the country. There have also been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment, and several people have died.
Dozens of news websites have been blocked in Belarus and independent media has been shuttered as part of the sweeping crackdown on information.
Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, has denied any fraud in the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on a political transition and new elections.
The West has refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate leader of Belarus and in response has imposed several waves of sanctions against the government and other officials accused of aiding and benefiting from the crackdown.