Olga Karach declared extremist in Belarus for the 25th time
Belarus criminalizes Olga Karach again, marking her twenty-fifth designation as extremist today.
On 20 January, the Baranovichi and Baranovichi District Court declared the TikTok page of Olga Karach to be “extremist material.” From this moment, in Belarus any distribution, reposting, quoting, or even public support of materials from Olga Karach’s TikTok page and from the human rights organisation “Our House” may entail criminal liability under Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (“Facilitating extremist activities”), which предусматривает punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment.
In practice, this means that an ordinary digital action – a like, a repost, or a private forward from Olga Karach’s TikTok page – can be interpreted as a criminal offence in Belarus.
It is important to understand that this is already the 25th time that Olga Karach herself, organisations affiliated with her, or the activities of “Our House” have been declared “extremist” in various forms. Previous decisions were taken by the Investigative Committee, the KGB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, prosecutor’s offices including the General Prosecutor’s Office, as well as district, city and regional courts. This latest court ruling adds yet another entry to that chain.
All these decisions are subsequently consolidated by the Ministry of Information of Belarus, which on their basis forms the so-called Republican List of Extremist Materials. This list is then used as a formal legal instrument for administrative and criminal persecution.
Over time, it becomes increasingly clear that this is not about law and not about combating “extremism.” It is about fear. Alexander Lukashenko and the entire state vertical demonstrate a systemic anxiety toward the human rights work of “Our House.”
What we observe is not a legal procedure, but a parade of state institutions, each seeking to demonstrate its loyalty to the system.
These labels do not destroy people, ideas, meanings, or work. They record only one fact: the Belarusian authorities fear the human rights activity of “Our House” so deeply that they return to this recognition of our influence and our strength again and again — now for the twenty-fifth time.
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