The authorities continue to systematically punish participation in street protests.455 Penalties for the participation in the 2020 mass protests have been widely applied over the following years,456 with prosecutions continuing in 2024457 and 2025.458 On 27-28 February 2022, unauthorised protests were reported in connection with the constitutional referendum and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The authorities detained over 1 000 people, amid reported cases of police violence and ill-treatment of detainees. Most of those detained were charged with administrative offences for participation in unauthorised mass events, generally resulting in fines and/or short-term detention of up to 30 days.459
To punish participants in the 2020 and 2022 protests, the authorities use Article 342 of the Criminal Code ‘Participation in actions that constitute a severe breach of public order’,460 which carries a maximum penalty of up to three years’ imprisonment,461 including for activities previously treated as an administrative offense.462 In some instances, individuals have been sentenced twice for the same act or received multiple sentences based on the same evidence.463 Between July and September 2025, participation in the 2020 protests remained one of the most common grounds for criminal prosecution,464 with at least 643 individuals convicted under Article 342 in 2025.465
By late 2025, there was a notable shift in the application of Article 342 of the Criminal Code. As this Article has a five-year statute of limitations for criminal liability, an increasing number of cases were discontinued466 between October and December 2025.467 Nevertheless, as reported by Viasna, in the first months of 2026, prosecutions for participation in the 2020 protests were still taking place in cases where the statute of limitations had not expired and had not been interrupted by a subsequent offence.468 Furthermore, even where cases were dismissed on procedural grounds due to the lapse of the statute of limitations, defendants were still added to the official list of extremists, showing that such designations are made even in the absence of criminal conviction.469 In the last three months of 2025, 33 individuals were reportedly added to the list of extremists with a note that they were released from liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.470
According to Human Constanta, some cases against individuals suspected of participating in the 2020 protests have been closed. However, the source noted that such outcomes depend on various factors, such as, for example, whether the authorities find additional incriminating material on the person’s phone. While criminal cases are unlikely to be opened solely for participation in the 2020 protests, such involvement remains known to the authorities, who may initiate prosecution if additional grounds emerge. In 2025, the organisation observed that many people were called for interrogation by the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in connection with the 2020 protests.471
The authorities increasingly rely on surveillance technologies, including facial recognition technology.472 For identification purposes, law enforcement bodies also use publicly available footages, as many protests have been filmed by state and independent media, as well as by videos posted on social media.473 For example, in July 2025, state-affiliated Telegram channels reportedly posted photos and videos from the 2020 protests held in the cities of Grodno, Bereza, Zhodino, and Baranovichi, asking for help to identify protesters.474 Mobile billing data has also been used as a proof of presence at protests, even in the absence of photo or video evidence.475
As many Belarusians abroad remain politically active, the authorities have also initiated criminal cases to penalise their participation in protests outside of the country.476 As noted by Human Constanta in email correspondence with EUAA, since 2020, law enforcement has systematically relied on photo and video footage to identify participants at diaspora rallies.477 Following anti-government rallies held abroad on 26 January 2025, the day of the presidential elections, the Investigative Committee reportedly initiated a criminal case involving approximately 400 individuals as suspects.478 After public demonstrations held in Poland, Lithuania, U.S., U.K., and Canada on 22 March 2025 to mark Freedom Day – commemorating the anniversary of the country’s 1918 declaration of independence and a symbol of the protest movement479 – the Investigative Committee identified at least 207 participants,480 with identifications reportedly made through photo and video materials.481 As a consequence, the authorities raided the homes of participants’ relatives in Minsk and other parts of the country,482 subjecting them to searches and interrogations.483 As of August 2025, the number of protesters identified by security forces reportedly rose to at least 467 people.484
In some cases, as further noted by Human Constanta, Belarusians abroad reportedly cooperate with the Belarusian authorities by recording protests and sending footage to law enforcement.485
As the authorities perceive the organisers of the March 2025 rallies as extremist formations, the persons identified as participants are treated as suspects under charges of ‘aiding extremist activity’ (Article 361-4 of the Criminal Code).486 This offence is punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment and fines ranging from approximately 7 500 to 750 000 US dollars, depending on the offense and the offender’s financial circumstances. Furthermore, in such cases, the authorities frequently seize property to secure payment, what is reportedly a main reason for raids.487
Besides Article 361-4, participants in rallies abroad also face charges under Article 361 ‘Calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) or other actions intended to harm the national security’, which carries penalties of up to 12 years of imprisonment. These provisions are often applied together with other articles of the Criminal Code used in politically motivated charges. The authorities treat acts of protests as threats to national security, which is interpreted broadly and enables the use of special (in absentia) proceedings to try and sentence individuals abroad.488
- 455
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 28; Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. January 2026, 4 February 2026, url
- 456
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026,
- 457
AI, Belarus 2024, 28 April 2025, url
- 458
Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus in 2025, 13 January 2026, url
- 459
USDOS, 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Belarus, 30 March 2023, url
- 460
Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. November 2025, 8 December 2025, url
- 461
Amnesty International, Belarus: Authorities unleash mass criminal proceedings against hundreds of peaceful protesters, 3 November 2020, url
- 462
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 35
- 463
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 35
- 464
Human Constanta, Обзор борьбы с «экстремизмом» в Беларуси за июль-сентябрь 2025 [Review of the fight against extremism in Belarus for July–September 2025], 5 November 2025, url
- 465
Viasna, At least 1,254 people convicted in 2025: the results of criminal prosecution, 29 January 2025, url
- 466
Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 467
Human Constanta, Судебный конвейер за информацию о военной технике и «экстремистские» треш-блогеры [A judicial conveyor belt for information about military equipment and "extremist" trash bloggers], 30 January 2026, url, p. 20
- 468
Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. January 2026, 4 February 2026, url; Viasna, Human rights situation in Belarus. February 2026, 3 March 2026, url
- 469
Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 470
Human Constanta, Судебный конвейер за информацию о военной технике и «экстремистские» треш-блогеры [A judicial conveyor belt for information about military equipment and "extremist" trash bloggers], 30 January 2026, url, p. 20
- 471
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026
- 472
UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus, 7 February 2025, url, para. 28
- 473
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026
- 474
Zerkalo, Сілавікі пашырылі геаграфію пошуку ўдзельнікаў пратэстаў 2020 года. Іх цікавяць людзі, якія выходзілі на маршы яшчэ ў адным горадзе [Law enforcement has expanded its search for participants in the 2020 protests. They are interested in people who took part in marches in another city], 18 July 2025, url; Mediazona Belarus, Силовики просят доносить на людей, попавших на кадры с протестов в Березе, Жодино и Барановичах [Security forces are asking people to report those who appear in footage from the protests in Bereza, Zhodino, and Baranovichi], url
- 475
Dissidentby and Human Constanta, From streets to screens: digital repression in Belarus (2020-2025), 12 December 2025, url, p. 6
- 476
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026
- 477
Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 478
Lawtrend, Monitoring of the situation with freedom of association and the status of civil society organisations in the Republlic of Belarus – March 2025, 11 April 2025, url
- 479
Mezha, Belarusian authorities threaten diaspora activists with criminal charges and asset seizures over Freedom Day rallies, 23 March 2026, url
- 480
Mezha, Belarusian authorities threaten diaspora activists with criminal charges and asset seizures over Freedom Day rallies, 23 March 2026, url; AP, Belarus targets dozens of government critics with raids and detention, advocates say, 6 August 2025, url
- 481
Human Constanta, Обзор борьбы с «экстремизмом» в Беларуси за июль-сентябрь 2025 [Overview of the Fight Against “Extremism” in Belarus: July–September 2025], 5 November 2025, url; Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 482
AP, Belarus targets dozens of government critics with raids and detention, advocates say, 6 August 2025, url
- 483
Viasna, Raids, property seizures, interrogations: How Belarus is persecuting participants of solidarity actions abroad, 7 August 2025, url; Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 484
Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 485
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026
- 486
Viasna, Raids, property seizures, interrogations: How Belarus is persecuting participants of solidarity actions abroad, 7 August 2025, url; Human Constanta, Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026
- 487
Viasna, Raids, property seizures, interrogations: How Belarus is persecuting participants of solidarity actions abroad, 7 August 2025, url
- 488
Human Constanta, Online interview with EUAA, 25 February 2026 and Email correspondence with EUAA, 13 March 2026